BEYOND THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVE CONSTANCY - DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMERMASS-MEDIA EXPENDITURES IN BELGIUM

This article goes beyond the principle of relative constancy (PRC) by testing 2 new models of consumer mass media spending using 1953-1991 B elgian data. Unlike traditional PRC models, which have focused exclusi vely on the long-term relationship between income and mass media spend ing, these 2 models contain additional regressors (price, population, unemployment, and interest rate) in current (Model 1) and lagged (Mode l 2) form. Time-series regression analyses were performed to determine which variables significantly predict changes in consumer mass media expenditures. Model 1 regressions revealed that price and population w ere better predictors of mass media expenditures than income, stressin g the importance of developing models of consumer mass media spending that go beyond a simple mass media expenditures-income relation. Model 2 regressions showed that lagged variables played an important role i n explaining changes in mass media expenditures, indicating the need f or incorporating lags in future mass media spending work.