Everything Also I Want: Another Look at Consumer Culture in Contemporary Singapore

Peter A. Coclanis

Both popular and scholarly literatures often depict the wealthy city-state of Singapore as an ultra-materialistic country whose population is comprised largely of avid consumers whose favorite (if not only) pastime is shopping, particularly at high-end stores. In this paper, I use some new insights from consumer economics, as well as available empirical data, to analyze consumer behavior in Singapore closely to ground it more firmly in the structures informing the city-state's economy.

BEH On-Line Paper