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Named after the American economist Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857–1929), this is a theory of consumption which suggests that consumers may have an ‘upward-sloping demand curve’ as opposed to a ‘downward-sloping demand curve’ because they practice conspicuous consumption (a downward - sloping demand curve means that the quantity demanded varies inversely to the price i.e. demand falls with price rise). The concept suggests that quantity demanded of a particular good varies directly with a change in price (i.e., as price increases, demand increases).