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Ellen Richards’s Home Economics Movement and the Birth of the Economics of Consumption

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  • Philippy, David
Abstract
In 1899, MIT chemist Ellen H. Richards (1842–1911) instigated a series of annual “Lake Placid Conferences” (1899–1908) that became known as the foundation of the home economics movement. Richards’s first interest was in improving the household’s well-being by using sanitary and nutrition sciences, an objective that was passed on to the movement. However, by the 1920s, home economists rather identified their field of expertise as the “science of consumption,” emphasizing the idea of “rational consumption.” My aim in this article is to give an account of how this shift in focus came about, by telling the story of the home economics movement founded by Richards. I examine how the movement problematized consumption by highlighting its relationship and perception of itself, regarding economics. I argue that the concept of consumption was central to the structuring of the movement from its beginning and allowed home economists to claim it as their field of expertise because, as they believed, economists were not addressing the issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippy, David, 2021. "Ellen Richards’s Home Economics Movement and the Birth of the Economics of Consumption," OSF Preprints v8yfk_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:v8yfk_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/v8yfk_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert J. Gordon, 2016. "The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10544.
    2. Shoshana Grossbard, 2006. "The New Home Economics at Columbia and Chicago," Springer Books, in: Shoshana Grossbard (ed.), Jacob Mincer A Pioneer of Modern Labor Economics, chapter 7, pages 37-49, Springer.
    3. Trezzini, Attilio, 2012. "Relative Income Vs. Permanent Income: The Crisis Of The Theory Of The Social Significance Of Consumption," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(3), pages 355-377, September.
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