CONSUMPTION INSTITUTIONS

Consumption institutions reflect socially constructed systems of rules that generate regularities in people's consumption behavior. This pap er seeks to understand these institutions by using insights from recen t developments in rhetorical analysis and the economics of institution s in order to develop an analogy between speech and consumption and to explore parallels between the institutions that surround them. Just a s a speaker utilizes speech institutions (e.g., language, speech codes ), a consumer utilizes a variety of consumption institutions (e.g., th e meanings produced by specific arrangements of goods, dress codes) in making statements. Consumption institutions serve as both constraints and enablers, providing the knowledge that assist individuals to rela te to each other through intersubjectively shared categories of commun ication. They serve a dual function by providing knowledge for the con sumer to send and the audience to interpret messages.