Sparen in Zeiten niedriger Zinsen — wirtschaftspolitische Unterstützung nötig?

Critics of the low interest rate environment claim that German households have had difficult times generating positive returns from their savings since interest rates reached levels around zero. Therefore, direct public support is increasingly being called for. This article shows that, from a macroeconomic perspective, households have in fact generated positive real returns to date. However, portfolio returns may vary among households due to differences in portfolio structure and size. In addition, aggregate portfolio returns might decrease in the years to come if nominal interest rates remain low. Regarding policy responses, it is therefore proposed to undertake measures which increase total factor productivity and improve the financial literacy of households. Both approaches promise to be more effective than direct public support of savings.     

Construction of consumer choice in the market: challenges for environmental policy

Drawing from the literature on the analytics of government, the paper discusses marketing as a form of government, elaborating and illustrating the many ways in which consumer choice is shaped, modified and directed in the market through practices and techniques of consumer marketing. The aim is to critically reflect upon and render problematic the individualistic ideas of the green consumer as a powerful market force and to provoke discussion on the conceptualization – and construction – of consumer subjectivity and social problems in marketing. Taking examples particularly from the fashion and clothing industry, the paper discusses the ways in which marketing activities come to shape consumer conduct by operating through the choice of individuals who freely pursue their needs and desires, and by working on the environment within which this freedom of choice is exercised. The paper contributes to the literature on green consumerism by systematically interrogating and elaborating on the modes and practices of marketing thought and expertise through which consumers and consumption are rendered intelligible and actionable in the market.     

Discursive Confusion over Sustainable Consumption: A Discursive Perspective on the Perplexity of Marketplace Knowledge

This paper works towards a discursive, practice-based perspective on explaining the “knowledge-to-action” gap observed in the consumer policy literature on sustainable consumption. Based on an empirical study that focuses on fashion and clothing markets, the objective is to elaborate on the nature and implications of the discursive polyphony that consumers face when striving for more sustainable consumption practices. Overall, it is concluded that part of the gap can be attributed to the discursive confusion that arises from a simultaneous existence of multiple, continuously changing and partly clashing discourses of sustainable consumption as well as the associated discursive struggle that consumers need to deal with when trying to make sense of their roles and responsibilities in sustainable development.     

What not to wear? Oppositional ideology,fashion, and governmentality in wardrobe self-help

In this paper, we draw attention to the emancipatory premises of oppositional ideologies and the ideological nature of consumption in the context of fashion. Drawing on the Foucauldian concept of power, we illustrate how a specific genre of self-help literature, which we have termed wardrobe self-help (WSH), produces an alternative mode of discourse about fashion and clothing as a cultural mediator. Our findings challenge the prevailing fashion ideology that capitalizes on emancipation, and unravel the means through which WSH oppositional ideology governs consumers. Consequently, we argue that while oppositional ideologies can blur the boundaries between coercion and consent, and act as vehicles of repression and liberation, they ultimately come to govern, if not limit, consumer choice and expression.