The Sociology of Consumption: a Brief History

Abstract

The sociological study of consumption goes as far back as sociology itself. Its empirical roots can be traced to the early development of statistical methods.¹ The first household budgets were collected across Europe in the mid-nineteenth century to determine minimum income needs, and therefore the main focus was on the consumption of food. This work led to the now famous Engel’s Law, named after its inventor Ernst Engel, which stated that the proportion of income spent on food falls with rising income (Stigler 1954). This law still seems to apply today (Ilmonen & Pantzar 1986).