A
n economy involves the relationships of individual, business and government spending or investment
within a region. Public policy makers and business leaders pay close attention to consumer behavior
in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an economy. Accordingly, it is important to
assess the extent to which consumers participate in the economy by way of their spending. In the United
States, consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s total production of goods and
services. Free-market economies rely on consumer demand to gauge the allocatio