DOCSLIB.ORG

Unit 8 Consumer Movement: Features, Issues and Trends

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Unit 8 Consumer Movement: Features, Issues and Trends UNIT 8 CONSUMER MOVEMENT: FEATURES, ISSUES AND TRENDS Structure 8.0 Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Socio-economic Factors 8.2.1 Population Problem 8.2.2 Unemployment 8.2.3 Adult Illiteracy 8.2.4 Inflation 8.2.5 Economic Liberalization 8.3 The Public Distribution System (PDS) , 8.4 The Role of the State i 8.4.1 Directive Principles of State Policy 8.5 Why the Consumer Needs Protection? 8.5.1 The Role of ConsumedPublic Opinion 8.5.2 The Power of Consumer Boycon 8.6 The Changing Trends in Consumer Movement 8.6.1 The Areas of Emerging Concern 8.6.2 Possibilities for Action 8.6.3 Expanding Scope 8.7 Tasks Ahead 8.8 Let Us Sum Up 8.9 Key Words 8.10 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 8.0 OBJECTIVES T-lnl +,his unit, you will study about the various factors influencing the consumer movement in India. You will also study about the future directions in which the movement is visible, subsequent to various economic and environmental issues. The economic and social factors leading to specific problems that consumers in India have to face and the role of consumer organizations in tackling them are also identified. All this will help you to know where we stand as consumers at present and what is needed to be done in the future. 8.1 INTRODUCTION , With a population of over 950 million spread over 3287263 sq.kms. of land, geo- graphical divisions into 25 states and 7 union territories, over 30 languages, and hundreds of dialects, the Indian subcontinent presents a very complex and confounding picture to anyone attempting to evolve a cohesive policy in any field of' social action. Nearly 40 per cent (320 ml) of the population lives below the poverty line with little or no purchasing power at all and thus, remains outside the market system. Of the remaining, the consumer class is estimated at around 500 million. The rich and the super rich account for the rest of the populace. This, in brief, is he economic profile .of the Indian' consumer. Till 1970, the average Indian consumer was not seriously concerned about the problem of rising prices or shortages. Statutory rationing schemes providing a certain quantum of supply of food grains and other commodities at fixed prices provided insurance against vagaries in supplies and fluctuations in prices. The money in Consumer Movement circulation was also limited and therefore inflation was under check. However after 1972, things started looking grim. There was unexpected shortage of everything from foodgrains to toilet soaps. Adulteration was the order of the day. Consumers began to feel the need to organise themselves into pressure groups to voice their grievances. A few groups here and there emerged as spokespersons for ate consumer community. These groups identified the weaknesses in the system, examined their rights and the position of the consumers in the existing legal framework. The Public Distribution System (PDS) meant to supply essential commodities to consumers in the rural and urban areas was the first area of concern and action for these consumer groups. Thus, complaint handling, grievance redressal and activising the inactive and indifferent government machinery were the items on the agenda of about 20 odd consumer organizations across the country that were functioning by 1974. Though limited, the success stories of these consumer groups which were highlighted by the media spread hopes among several others and thus, more consumer groups came into being. By 1976, there were over 60 consumer organizations in the country. By the 80s, consumer concerns were getting enlarged from problems of supply and distribution of food grains to short weights, adulteration, food safety, quality, consumer education and training, environmental issues, problems of the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. From a study of the existing laws such as the Essential Commodities Act, the Weights and Measures Act, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, consumer groups found that these and several other laws dealt with consumer protection only indirectly and that their primary objective was to regulate trade and industry. The groups, therefore, lobbied with the government and political parties and used the iedia for focusing attention on the immediate need for comprehensive con,sumer protection legislation. These efforts ultimately resulted in the government coming up with the Consumer Protection Act 1986 (CPA). This has been implemented from 15th April 1987 onwards. 8.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS Our problems as consumers and the characteristics of the consumer movement are influenced by the socio-economic factors peculiar to India. India's per capita income in 1992 was 310 US dollars as against the per capita BNP of 8356 dollars of economically advanced countries. Over 62% of India's population is employed in agriculture. The problem of both rural and urban poverty complicates any solution to the enormous economic concerns of the country. Over 30 to 40% of the Indian population is estimated to be below the poverty line (although official estimates put it at around 25%); i.e., they are neither buyers nor sellers and are thus, left outside the market system. They have no access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, health care, and education. The special poverty eradication programmes of the government are directed to ameliorating this enormous problem. Consequently, considerable amount of expenditure is incurred by the government on poverty alleviation programmes, which otherwise would be available for infrastructural development. 8.2.1 Population Problem Indian economy faces a seemingly insurmountable problem on account of a high rate of population growth. The Indian population grew at an annual average rate of 2.2% in the period 1960-62. By 2000 AD, it is estimated that the Indian population will cross the 1 billion mark. The growth in population further aggravates the pmblemk of poverty and unemployment. India's population at the beginning of I996 was estimate at 930 million (93 crores). d 8.2.2 Unemployment I, According to the DGE & T, Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India, at the end of 1993, there were nearly 3.70 crore persons on the live registers of employment exchanges the country. These figures however, do not reflect the reaI problem of For they do not as much reveal the.fact of unemployment in the rural areas. It is said Consumer Movement : that the total number of unemployed persons in the country may actually be about 8 Features, Issues and lknds crores. That the nation is unable to make use of this vast manpower is a poor reflection on our economy. 8.2.3 Adult Illiteracy Another major problem we faci is adult illiteracy. The total literacy rate in 1995 was 52.11% with male literacy at 63.86% and female literacy at 49.42%. Developing consumer awareness is directly linked to the literacy factor and therefore, the consumer movement in India has to encounter a very difficult problem in bringing consumer awareness among the masses. 8.2.4 Inflation Inflation is another economic problem that adversely affects the consumers in India. Several factors such as increased income in the hands of people, financing of government expenditure through deficit financing, increase in wages of government and private sector employees and inadequate supply of goods and services to meet the rising demand contribute to inflation and push.up the prices for the consumers. Through price and distribution controls, the government has been making efforts to ' tackle the problem of inflation. But from the experience gained over the last four decades, it is found that these measures are not adequate to meet the desired objectives. 8.2.5 Economic Liberalization Under the new policy of economic liberalization, government is cornmitt4 to remove price and distribution controls except in respect of a few selected commodities that are supplied through the public distribution system. Consumers are left to protect themselves against price rise in a free market economy in which multinational corporations and monopoly business houses with high market strength and full economic advantages will be dictating terms to the consumers and charging prices at their will. Check Your Progress Exercise 1 Note : i) Use the space given below for your answers. ii) Check your answer with the model answers given at the end of this unit. 1) When and how did the consumer movement start in India? ......................................................................................................................................... 2) Which socio-economic factors affect consumer behaviour and movement? , 8.3 PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (PDS) The PDS is meant to take care of the minimum nutritional requirements of the eco- nomically vulnerable sections of the society. The PDS now covers a population of around 500 million to a network of nearly 5 lakh fair price shops. Rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene oil are included in the list of items supplied to the card holders through the PDS. In some states items such as edible oils, handloom cloth, tea, iodized salt and a few other products are also supplied through the system. But the huge subsidies involved in running the PDS, estimated at Rs. 5,000 crores, and the leakages in the system have prompted the policy makers to have a re-look at the PDS and specify @ 3 Consumer Mavement targeting of beneficiaries. In fact, the system now in.operation is the TPDS-Targeted a. 1 Public Distribution System. 8.4 THE ROLE OF THE STATE Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights says: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services". Corresponding to the above, the Constitution of India provides for the right to life and liberty in Article 21, which has been expanded by the Supreme Court in several cases.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Environmental and Consumer Movements TEKS 11(B), 24(B) 2 Listen • the 1960S and 1970S Also Saw the Birth of the Environmental and Consumer Protection Movements
    1 The Environmental and Consumer Movements TEKS 11(B), 24(B) 2 Listen • The 1960s and 1970s also saw the birth of the environmental and consumer protection movements. Environmental movements demanded preservation and restoration of Earth’s environment. Inspired by Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, condemning the chemicals that were poisoning the environment, groups organized around the country. Activists protested pollution and toxic wastes. The government responded to environmentalists’ fears over possible nuclear accidents by establishing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1974 to oversee the safety of nuclear power plants. 3 Listen • As concerns about environmental damage grew among the public, the government also established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national antipollution standards. The EPA enforced these standards through the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, which controlled air and water pollution by industries. Because of concerns of business that new regulations would cost them too much and cause loss of jobs, the government tried to balance the demands of economic development and environmental protection. 4 Listen • The consumer movement demanded safety for consumers and workers. It had roots in early-20th- century efforts, such as those of the muckrakers, to protect the public. But in the 1960s and 1970s the movement grew larger and stronger. Led by consumer activist Ralph Nader, who has devoted his life and work to consumer protection, scores of volunteers investigated the automobile and
    [Show full text]
  • A Tale of Two Movements: Consumer Protection in the U.S. from 1969 to 2010
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons CUREJ - College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal College of Arts and Sciences 5-2-2013 A Tale of Two Movements: Consumer Protection in the U.S. from 1969 to 2010 Diya Berger [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/curej Recommended Citation Berger, Diya, "A Tale of Two Movements: Consumer Protection in the U.S. from 1969 to 2010" 02 May 2013. CUREJ: College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal, University of Pennsylvania, https://repository.upenn.edu/curej/168. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/curej/168 For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Tale of Two Movements: Consumer Protection in the U.S. from 1969 to 2010 Abstract The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and subsequent establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau marked an unexpected victory for consumers across America at the expense of the well-financed business lobby. Although classical social scientists, such as Mancur Olson, claim that consumer movements should fail to emerge due to the difficulty of providing public goods for large constituencies, consumer victories – like the passage of Dodd-Frank— have occurred in waves throughout the last century. In conducting this study, I thus sought to answer why it is that some consumer movements are able to push through consumer legislation while others fail. In order to answer this question, I conducted two cases studies, comparing Ralph Nader’s failed attempt to establish a Consumer Protection Agency in the 1970s with Elizabeth Warren’s successful push to create Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • 301-309. Consumer Activism for Social Change A
    Lightfoot, E. B. (2019). Consumer Activism for Social Change. Social Work, 64(4), 301-309. Consumer Activism for Social Change Abstract Consumer activism, or activism through participating in the market such as through boycotts or ethical shopping, is the most common form of political action in the United States aside from voting. While consumer activism was a popular macro practice social work intervention by social work pioneers and has been an important part of many social change movements, it is rarely discussed formally in the field of social work today. This article provides an overview of consumer activism as a social work intervention, describes historical and twenty-first century examples of consumer activism, discusses the effectiveness of consumer activism, and discusses the strengths and challenges of consumer activism for social workers who engage in it either professionally or personally. This is the unedited Author’s Copy. The published article is: Lightfoot, E. B. (2019). Consumer Activism for Social Change. Social Work, 64(4), 301-309. Lightfoot, E. B. (2019). Consumer Activism for Social Change. Social Work, 64(4), 301-309. Consumer activism is activism taken by consumers through participating in the market. This can involve activities such as choosing to shop for only fair-trade products or boycotting a company because of its labor practices. Consumer activism has a long history in the United States (US), and more than half of US citizens have participated in a form of consumer activism in their lives, with more than a third participating in the past year (Keeter, Zukin, Zndolina & Jenkins, 2002). Aside from voting, consumer activism is the most common way that citizens engage in political participation and is far more common than other types of political engagement, such as contacting legislators, fundraising for charity, taking part in a protest or volunteering for a candidate.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit 7 Consumer Movement in Select Countries
    UNIT 7 CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN SELECT COUNTRIES Structure 7.0 Objectives 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Consumer Movement in America 7.3 Consumer Mmement in Europe 7.4 Consumer Movement in Asia-Japan 7.5 Consumer Movement in Developing/Third World Countries 7.6 Let Us Sum Up 7.7 Key Words 7.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 7.0 OBJECTIVES This unit deals with the Consumer Movement in some select countries of Asia, Europe and America. A study of thc comparative growth of consumer movement in terms of issues involved and patterns of growth will enable you to : Understand the origin of consumer movement and issues involved in different countries. @ Appreciate the differences as well as similarities in the patterns of growth of consumer movement in different countries. 0 Take note of the role of women in the consumer movement. Draw lessons for expanding the consumer movement in India. 7.1 INTRODUCTION In Unit 6 on the consumer movement in India, you have studied history and growth of consumer movement in the country and its influence. You must have realised that even while the consumer movement in our country has become strong and some important consumer organisations and activists have made a great impact, there are still many challenges facing the movement. In other countries on the other hand, the consumer movement has been very successful in terms of consumer being taken seriously. Some of them, of course, face problems; which are similar to India. Information exchange and dissemination is the need of the hour. In this unit, we will , attempt issue based comparison of consumer movement in some developed countries of America, Europe, and Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Roadside Retail Will Need to Attract Visits by More Than Just the Visual Dimension (The Eyeball Test) It Relied On
    THE SHAPE OF FOOD RETAILING IN THE NEW NORMAL 5: UNDERSTANDING ROADSIDE CONSUMERS RETAIL NEW TECHNOLOGY "The industry as a whole must shift from planning to providing an adequate response to the key strategic question that will determine its future. “Why will the consumer of 2030 visit my roadside outlet?” FOODSERVICE The authors "Roadside retail will need to attract visits by more than just the visual dimension (the eyeball test) it relied on for decades. It will no longer be enough to have a large COFFEE fuel price sign, compelling price, a (hopefully) clean and easy to access lot, to influence customer behavior to shop the site. Within this decade, that long-standing consumer purchasing behavior will endure seismic shifts, becoming more influenced by technology platforms able to make deeper connections. The future FUELS & EV CHARGING dimensions of consumer attraction will be more dependent on technology and other factors, that will transform fuel retail marketing from an interruption during a travel journey to an intentional destination” MARKETING Chris Gheysens, CEO Wawa This paper is motivated by a desire to help roadside retailers to successfully and profitably operate with changing consumer demands. THE SHAPE OF FOOD RETAILING CONTENTS IN THE NEW NORMAL 5: 1. Foreword 2. Introduction ROADSIDE 3. Consumer needs 4. Fresh food for today 5. Services RETAIL 6. Technology and data insights 7. Critical store success pillars 8. Industry leader insights 9. Acknowledgments 10. Addendum: Quotes from industry leaders 11. About the authors 1. FOREWORD by DARRYL BURCHELL, FORMER HEAD OF BP GLOBAL CONVENIENCE RETAIL In this latest paper on the shape of food retail in the new normal, I am delighted that Scott and Dev, with the collaboration of Frank and Sabine, have now turned their sights to roadside retailing—a sector that I have been intimately involved with over the last few years.
    [Show full text]
  • University Microfilms International 300 N
    HOME ECONOMICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: MAJOR CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE AND CURRICULUM Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Carver, Marie Negri Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 01:34:37 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290488 INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure you of complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark it is an indication that the film inspector noticed either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, or duplicate copy. Unless we meant to delete copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed, you will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame.
    [Show full text]
  • Leiknd E.My Lg;Ksxh Dezpkjh
    EDITORIAL BOARD Shri Wajahat Habibullah : Chairman Shri Binod Kumar : Member Dr. Atindra Sen : Member Ms. B.V. Uma Devi : Member Shri S.K. Nandy : Member Dr. A. Subrahmanyam : Member Shri Manoj Ahuja : Member Ms. Arti Ahuja : Editor SUPPORTING STAFF Ms. Anju Vishnoi lEiknd e.My Jh otkgr gchcqYykg % v/;{k Jh fcuksn dqekj % lnL; Mk¡- vfrUnz lsu % lnL; Jherh ch- oh- mek nsoh % lnL; Jh ,l- ds uUnh % lnL; Mk¡- ,- lqczgkeU;e % lnL; Jh eukst vkgwtk % lnL; Jherh vkjrh vkgwtk % lEiknd lg;ksxh deZpkjh vatw fo'uksbZ ç'kkld THE ADMINISTRATOR Journal of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie 2001 fnlEcj] 2001 December, 2001 Hkkx@vad 44 la 2 Vol. XLIV No. 2 Copyright © 2001 SOFTRAIN, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (Uttaranchal) This Journal or any part thereof may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. The views expressed and facts stated in the articles contained in this volume are of the individual authors and are in no way those of either the Editor, the institution to which he/she belongs, or of the publisher. Annual Subscription India Rs. 400 Foreign US$ 10 Published by : SOFTRAIN, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (Uttaranchal) and Printed in India at Print Vision, Dehradun-248 001 FOREWORD iii Foreword We have in our hands the second issue of the "Administrator" for the year 2001. This has been a momentous year and has changed the course of the current history. It has in the process altered many perceptions, beliefs and the way we conduct our lives.
    [Show full text]
  • Consumer Movements, Activism, and Ideology
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228948443 Adversaries of Consumption: Consumer Movements, Activism, and Ideology Article in Journal of Consumer Research · December 2004 DOI: 10.1086/425104 CITATIONS READS 359 1,423 7 authors, including: Robert V. Kozinets John Sherry University of Southern California University of Notre Dame 89 PUBLICATIONS 10,778 CITATIONS 123 PUBLICATIONS 7,621 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Activism View project Online Reviews View project All content following this page was uploaded by Robert V. Kozinets on 27 August 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Adversaries of Consumption: Consumer Movements, Activism, and Ideology ROBERT V. KOZINETS JAY M. HANDELMAN* This article focuses on consumer movements that seek ideological and cultural change. Building from a basis in New Social Movement (NSM) theory, we study these movements among anti-advertising, anti-Nike, and anti-GE food activists. We find activists’ collective identity linked to an evangelical identity related to U.S. activism’s religious roots. Our findings elucidate the value of spiritual and religious identities to gaining commitment, warn of the perils of preaching to the unconverted, and highlight movements that seek to transform the ideology and culture of con- sumerism. Conceiving mainstream consumers as ideological opponents inverts conventional NSM theories that view them as activists’ clients. ocial movements are intentional collective efforts by temporary consumer movements that seek to change this S activists to transform the social order (Buechler 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • Advertising Council, Consumer Movement & Ad Industry Public
    Advertising Council, consumer movement & ad industry public relations Selling Advertising The Ad Industry's Battle Against the Consumer Movement of the 1930s: An Interview with Inger Stole Carrie McLaren | Issue #18 I was pretty psyched to come across Inger Stole’s dissertation, Selling Advertising. For the last couple of years, I’ve been obsessed with the history of advertising–specifically, advertising’s relationship to its critics. A large part of this history deals with the industry’s long-standing efforts to better its rep, through the Advertising Council and other efforts, to shape what the public thinks when they think of "advertising." In retrospect, sixty-plus years later, these efforts sound straight out of Public Relations 101: lobbying groups, fake grassroots groups, campaigns to advertise advertising, and "charitable" efforts. Unfortunately, the history of the ad industry’s PR machine is largely unwritten–which is what makes Inger Stole’s work so important. Selling Advertising is one of the first in-depth studies of the ad industry’s fight against critics. Although not intended for mass consumption, it is rich with detail on the 1930s and 1940s, a period that in many ways set the stage for what has followed. Inger Stole teaches at the University of Illinois, where she is working on a book about the 1930s consumer movement. —Carrie McLaren Stay Free: How did you become interested in the consumer movement? What was your point of entry? Inger Stole: For my master’s thesis, I researched the role that advertising played in setting up 1950s television, and I started thinking, "Why didn’t anyone say this stinks?" Television was set up to be purely commercial and that was never questioned.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Review of Literatures on Consumers Movement
    A CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURES ON CONSUMERS MOVEMENT S. G. DESHMUKH Research Scholar, YCMOU Nashik & Retired as Director of Gurukul Institute, Vikroli, Mumbai (MS) INDIA A critical study of literature available on the issues pertaining to consumer movement is made here. This covers various aspects related with genesis, growth, problems and future of consumer movement, awareness of consumer regarding consumer movement, problems faced by consumers and various dimensions of Consumer Protection Laws. Consumer Movement The book by Jag Pravesh Chandra titled “Rights of Consumers” deals with consumer protection in India. It puts across the disappointments and frustration of the dissatisfied consumer. It is an attempt to create better understanding between the merchants and consumers. Merchants must understand and accept the concept of consumerism. Consumer’s rights, tricks of traders. etc. are enumerated. There is a request to the press to help the consumer movement by providing coverage and reproducing the grievances of consumers. Setting up of a consumers Affairs Centre exclusively for treating consumer related matter is suggested. Malathesh S. has made an attempt to assess opinions of consumers. They study undertaken by him is an opinion survey of consumers in Ahmedabad. This survey is undertaken to evaluate the impact of functioning of CERC. The survey was conducted by CERC during October 1980 to know the opinion of its subscribing members about the activities and publications of CERC. About 50 percent respondents belonged to the age group of 46 to 55, 89 percent were males, 60 percent were postgraduates and 61 per cent in the income group of Rs. 2000 and above.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Has Star Quality?
    42 952583 Ch38.qxd 1/28/04 3:29 PM Page 443 { CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT { Who Has Star Quality? Jon A. Chilingerian onsumers can help to transform the way health care is delivered. Indeed, con- sumers have already effected important changes in the health care system. CFor example, patient expectations have influenced the architecture of hospi- tal wards, the concerns of the women’s movement have led to more family- centered care in obstetrics, and the needs and buying behaviors of individuals with diabetes have changed product-line and research and development strategies in the worldwide insulin business. Patient expectations are the reason today’s hospitals have many small, private rooms. To achieve nursing efficiency and lower construction costs, mod- ern hospitals were originally built with large, impersonal wards, most contain- ing as many as forty beds. However, throughout the world and at different points in time, ward patients complained bitterly about the lack of privacy, amenities, convenience, and information.1 Despite the benefits of large wards, consumer forces helped to shift the architecture of hospitals. In the United States, hospitals built before 1880 had very large wards only; however, by 1908, private rooms grew to account for 40 percent of all U.S. beds, and large wards declined to account for only 28 percent. By the year 2000, the number of pri- vate and semiprivate rooms had grown to account for nearly 100 percent of the I am very grateful to Dianne Chilingerian, Regina Herzlinger, John Kimberly, and Leon White for their encouragement and thoughtful comments. 443 42 952583 Ch38.qxd 1/28/04 3:29 PM Page 444 444 CONSUMER-DRIVEN HEALTH CARE beds in almost every economically developed health care system.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT in the 1990S: IMPLICATIONS for RESEARCH
    THE CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN THE 1990s: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH Stephen Brobeck, Consumer Federation of America The topic, the future of the consumer movement, is Coverage of the movement's dominant figure, Ralph not an easy one to address. There are so many var- Nader, paralleled that of the movement as a whole. iables which interact in such complex Here also the headlines revealed the content of ways that we cannot be certain what will happen. news articles. In the New York Times, in 1966, I have been reminded of this difficulty in pre­ "Car Safety Crusader: Ralph Nader"; in 1979, paring a bibliography on the consumer movement. "Nad er Expanding Consumer Efforts" ; and in 1982, This literature is littered with the corpses of "A Subdued Nader Works to Organize Consumers ." In articles that ventured predictions which have not Business Week, in 1969, "Crusader Widens Range of been fulfilled. One report by two highly re­ His Ire" : in 1972, "Ralph Nader Becomes an Organi­ garded researchers, for example, argued that during zation"; and in 1979, "A Fading Ralph Nader Re­ the last 25 years of this century, consumerism writes His Strategy. " would disappear. I myself became more careful about making predictions after giving a speech, Public opinion surveys also s uggest a loss of featured in a 1981 Associated Press wire story, public support and influence. In the early 1970s, that s uggested it was highly unlikely the infla­ Gallup found that Nader was one of the ten most tion rate would return to single digits in the widely admired Americans.
    [Show full text]