Materialism Among Adolescents in China: A Historical Generation Perspective‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Whether materialistic values, luxury consumption, and the craving for prestigious brands increase or decline over time among consumers in the United States is open to debate (Achenreiner, 1997; Easterlin and Crimmins, 1991). However, the escalation of consumers' desire for a materialistic lifestyle is obvious in less affluent countries. Ger and Belk (1996) note that materialistic values in some transitional economies have surpassed those in developed economies. In China, the largest transitional economy and a market arena for global firms (Child and Tse, 2001), consumers' desire for a luxurious and materialistic lifestyle has risen to an unprecedented level. According to a recent report, the country is now the third-biggest consumer of luxury goods, accounting for twelve percent of sales worldwide, up from one percent just five years ago (The Boston Globe, March 21 2006). However, not all consumers in China share the heightened orientation towards materialism.