ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book shows that the evolution of cleanliness consumption would be studied through the lens of consumer learning processes. It argues that the development of cleanliness consumption patterns over time would be looked at as the complex interplay between consumer motivations for cleanliness consumption, technical advances in laundry washing and consumer learning processes. The book provides an extensive critique of Gary Becker’s treatment of preferences. It also shows that the concept of preferences for the use of time can be given a behavioral interpretation: when human behavior, in general, is guided by the striving for rewarding experiences and the avoidance of pain, then household production activities might also follow basic principle. The book deals with changes in the domestic production of cleanliness in the United States during the twentieth century.
