Thorstein Veblen

The Theory of Business Enterprise

Economic analysis of how corporations shape markets and drive innovation

About the author

Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen

Norwegian-American economist whose The Theory of the Leisure Class introduced the concept of conspicuous consumption to analyze how the wealthy class uses spending to signal status. His savage, ironic style makes him the most readable of economists. He is the founder of institutional economics.

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