Consumption, preferences, and the evolutionary agenda

The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary evolutionary account of preferences, consumption and demand. This is particularly relevant for t he study of innovation which offers consumers the opportunity to develop ne w behaviours, The paper approaches this question in two stages. First it re cognises the importance of time as well as income constraints on consumer b ehaviour. Secondly, it develops a behavioural approach to consumption routi nes in terms of Herrnstein's concept of meloriation. In this account the fo cus is upon activities for which commodities and time are inputs and, with innovation, time is rescheduled on many fronts. Consumer learning is relate d to a replicator dynamic process. It is shown how changes in wages, prices and the time required to consume influence the demand for activities.