Poverty and convergence of convergence of consumers in Canada

To study changes in household consumption patterns, five socioeconomic hous ehold groups were defined using a new multidimensional index (IMPR) compose d of three dimensions: satisfaction of basic needs, marginalization relativ e to a reference population, and total disposable household income. When ho usehold incomes rose from 1969 to 1992, lower socio-economic groups did not display the same consumption behaviours as upper-income classes. The growt h in household income during their life-cycles did not allow them to catch up to higher-income households. Middle-class households experienced marked changes in consumption over their lifecycles, but in the 1990s, they experi enced difficulties.