Economic Growth and Changes in Consumption Patterns in India: With Special Reference to Lower and Lower-Middle Classes

主要发现如下：(1)近几十年来，即使是农村下层人口的消费行为也发生了显著变化，这体现在耐用消费品在农村下层人口中的渗透上。这些人不仅开始购买和使用这些商品，而且还扩大了他们的教育、宗教和其他活动。(3)农村社会结构的转变，特别是村民中下层群体的赋权，刺激了这些变化。人们可能早在20世纪50年代和60年代就开始使用新商品了。消费方式的变化促进了一些产业的发展。

Main findings are: (1) The last decades witnessed remarkable changes in consumption behaviors even of lower strata of the rural population as shown by the penetration of consumer durables among them. (2) These people have started not only buying and using these goods but also expanding their educational, religious and other activities. (3) The changes have been stimulated by a transformation in the village social structure, especially by the empowerment of the subaltern groups among the villagers. (4) People are likely to have started using new commodities as early as in the 1950s and 1960s. (5) The changes in consumption patterns have stimulated the growth of some industries.