KONSUMENT W TEORII I PRAKTYCE GOSPODARCZEJ EKONOMIA - PSYCHOLOGIA - PRAWO
THE CONSUMER IN THE THEORY AND ECONOMIC PRACTICE: ECONOMICS - PSYCHOLOGY - LAW

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to point at institutional implications of the consumer theory originated from various theoretical approaches. The theories under scrutiny comprise the neoclassical theory of the consumer, which is situated in the core of the mainstream economics, models of psychological economics, and the neoinstitutional and postkeynesian approach to consumer behaviour. The author tried to derive implications of the theories mentioned above for law and other social institutions. Then they are confronted with the existing consumer protection legislation which is treated as a practical dimension of consumer behaviour. This confrontation is a kind of empirical verification of the theories. The author tried to point at two main issues. On the one hand the investigation indicates a dramatic discrepancy between the assumptions of neoclassical theory and implicit consumer model stemming from the consumer protection law. On the other hand, convergence of consumer model derived from the law and alternative approaches to consumer behaviour (economical psychology, neoinstitutionalism, postkeynesism) could be observed. In the author’s opinion this convergence indicates a desirable direction of development of microeconomic theory of consumer behaviour.

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