Matchmaking and moneymaking in a patronage society: the first duke and duchess of Chandos,c. 1712–351

The focus of this article is on the contribution of an early eighteenth‐century aristocratic marriage partnership to the family economy, and particularly to the non‐co‐resident, extended family. Through a study of the first duke and duchess of Chandos, the active involvement of a husband and wife in furthering the marriages of close kin is highlighted. By outlining the strategy and tactics adopted and discussing their motivation, the article challenges the view that kinship had seriously declined in importance by the early eighteenth century. The Brydgeses did more than broker marriages for close female relatives; they groomed the young women, helped build up and manage their portions using new and modern forms of making money such as investing in the stock market, and found them husbands. The marriages of these young women were a form of patronage. Motivation for this involvement included familial affection and responsibility but extended to increasing and consolidating the duke's socio‐political influence through the patronage system and to limiting the potential drain on his estate. The duchess had a vested interest in this: it raised her status within family, connection, and society. The young women concerned, and their parents, were not always grateful for this patronage.     

A Decade in Perspective 1975–84: Focus and Trends in the Journal of Consumer Affairs

An analysis of research articles published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs for the issues published from 1975 (1) through 1984 (2) reveals a marked increase over time in the number of papers focusing on policy issues and a marked decrease over time on articles focusing on the consumer movement and consumer education. The largest number of authors during this period were from the University of California-Davis. Forty-four percent of all authors were from business and economics subject areas, and 26 percent were from home economics. Assistant Professors had the highest publishing rate. Papers were found to be equally divided between land grant and nonland grant institutions with the majority being of single or dual authorship. It is concluded that the Journal of Consumer Affairs is meeting its stated editorial policy.     

Association Between Market Price and Seller/Market Characteristics

The extensive literature examining association between price and quality has generally not addressed the effect of seller/market characteristics on the association. This study is a first effort to explore the influence of seller/market characteristics on product price. One-third of seller/market characteristics examined were found to significantly affect market price. This suggests that, when examining association between price and quality in a specific market, seller/market characteristics should be considered.     

Quantity Surcharges: Are They Important in Choosing a Shopping Strategy?

Instead of making value-price comparisons for all members of a product set, consumers may decide to adopt simple purchase decision rules such as larger sizes are better buys. When the unit price of a larger size is greater than the unit price of a smaller size, a quantity surcharge exists. Previous research has established that consumers do frequently encounter quantity surcharges in purchasing grocery products. However, estimates of the amount of the surcharge, the goal of this research, have not previously been reported. In this study the expected return from using the larger-size rule was estimated. The estimation procedure made use of price and size information gathered for all available packages of 23 products sold in 15 grocery stores in one rural Illinois community in October 1981. Nineteen of the 23 grocery products were found to have surcharges, with the mean amount ranging from less than one cent to 65 cents. Tuna fish was the only product for which the expected value of the return from buying a larger size rather than a smaller size was negative. Implications for consumers' choice of shopping strategies are discussed.     

THE FREQUENCY OF QUANTITY SURCHARGES: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Widrick's research has established that larger sizes of grocery products are not always less expensive per unit than smaller sizes, or that quantity surcharges exist. The purpose of this research was to validate and extend Widrick's work. In this research, the overall incidence of quantity surcharges was 18.6%. Surcharges were found to occur more often when numerous brand sizes were offered and non-integer package size comparisons were required. Additionally, personal care products, not previously included in quantity surcharge research, were found to have a lower incidence of surcharges than food and laundry products. The research indicates there may be possible payoffs to consumers who make unit price comparisons rather than employing the economy size rule.