This case study of a used car purchase illuminates the concepts and principles that should guide purchase decisions. It suggests that consumers should be aware there is little correlation between price and quality; competent shopping yields better quality; and consumers must decide their preferred trade-off between price and quality. (SK)

Explains price and product discrimination, showing how intelligent consumers can achieve increased purchasing power of their income and discusses how consumer educators can explain this discrimination. Evaluates the pros and cons of price/product discrimination from the social viewpoint. (Author/JOW)

Discusses the nature of consumer economics (the interactions between individuals and families and the markets for goods and services) and family economics (the interaction between families and work and workplace and the allocation of resources within the family). (JOW)

Focuses upon gambling, the twelfth largest industry in the United States, and its impact on families. Discusses the history of gambling, the cost of gambling, and the growth of lotteries. Suggests issues for consumer professionals to explore. (JOW)

Describes the alternative financial sector, which provides low-income consumers with a range of services such as rental-purchase agreements, pawn shops, refund anticipation loans, postdated checks, money orders, and check cashing outlets. (JOW)

Describes equity leasing, a program that enables people to acquire housing without an up-front investment but with an incentive to maintain and improve the property. Under this proposal, lessees would acquire a leasehold interest in a house and own the right to use the property for a continuously extended lease term. (JOW)

Identifies situation in which consumers are likely to substitute rules of thumb for research, reviews rules of thumb often used as substitutes, and identifies teaching activities to help students learn when substitution is appropriate. (JOW)

Provides an overview of materialism including concerns related to conceptualizations and measures of materialism, new developments in practice, and future prospects. (JOW)

Introduces consumer affairs specialists to engineering psychology, a relatively new academic field that brings perspectives of psychology to the design of various consumer products. (Author)

Outlines the conceptual frameworks of consequentialist and nonconsequentialist ethics as examples of two common and competing moral perspectives. Suggests possibilities for applications of ethics to issues that are common in consumer and family economics curricula. (Author/JOW)