Chapter 1: Introduction to the Symposium 100 Years After the Publication of “A Theory of Consumption” By Hazel Kyrk (1923)

We are pleased to present this symposium on Hazel Kyrk’s book A Theory of Consumption on the 100th anniversary of its first publication. Consumption was then, and remains today, a fundamental topic in economics. It is also complex since, as noted by Kyrk herself, the study of consumption is essentially a study of human behavior.

Before the appearance of Kyrk’s work, not much had been written on consumption. Following its publication in 1923, the book soon became the flagship of the female-dominated field then known as the “Economics of Consumption” and a canonical milestone in the history of Household Economics. Over the last couple of decades, scholars interested in women’s history and its relation to the household and economics have demonstrated both the importance and significance of Kyrk’s work (Bankovsky, 2020; Kiss & Beller, 1999; Le Tollec, 2020; Tadajewski, 2013; van Velzen, 2003). However, for most historians of economics, her contribution remains at best unclear, at worst unknown.