Expansión del consumo doméstico de bienes industriales en Costa Rica entre 1953-1984: Diffusion of industrial goods domestic consumption in Costa Rica between 1953-1984

Abstract

This paper analyzes the expansion of the consumption of household appliances, processed food, and manufactured clothing during the period 1953-1984. The consumption of household appliances is studied inside and outside the metropolitan area while the consumption of processed food and manufactured clothing is limited to the metropolitan area of the country, due to the type of sources. This article demonstrates how the diffusion of these goods implied the transformation of consumption patterns of Costa Rican families from the second half of the twentieth century, through the analysis of census data corresponding to the years 1953, 1963 and 1984 that were processed in tables of household appliance ownership, and the analysis of the changes registered in the basic food lists contained in the Metropolitan Household Income and Expenditure Surveys of the years 1949, 1961 and 1987-1988. Finally, some advertising images were used to illustrate the context and support the findings derived from the analysis of the census sources and the basic food lists.