Irrational consumers subject of Day To Day NPR piece
Day to Day, the NPR show, had a report today that talked about high gas prices and consumers' reaction to the ever-increasing numbers at the pumps. Alix Spiegel's radio piece tells us that consumers are somewhat irrational beings. We don't mind spending money as long we feel we got a good deal, even if the real value of the item or service we bought is nowhere near the money we paid for it. And, when it comes to $3 for a gallon of gas we look for someone to blame for the high price, even though coffee shops make a mint selling $4 drinks and we know we could be driving a more fuel-efficient car. You can listen to the 5-minute report here. [Source: NPR]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
psych101 4:25PM (5/10/2006)
Funny. The most irrational statement I hear around here (DC Metropolitan) is people saying they're going to move closer to the city or even in the city itself to lower their fuel costs. Last year for work I did an Order of Magnitude study for this very concept. Assuming that the consumer wants the same standard of living they had in the sub- or ex-urbs (sq.ft. and # of bedrooms and bathrooms, primarily), and assuming that the automobile stays the same (they don't get a more fuel efficient one), gasoline prices would have to increase to around $144 a gallon to make moving closer or into the city a financially beneficial proposition. The price of real estate so far eclipses the price of gasoline for the average consumer in the DC area that most people are better off getting a more fuel-efficient car.
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