New Delhi, March 9 -- Conventional economic narratives often assume that consumption rises smoothly with income. As households earn more, they are expected to spend more-a linear and predictable relationship.

Yet, empirical evidence from PRICE's ICE 360 survey suggests that household asset ownership in India is more discontinuous. It is also structurally revealing. Income growth does not produce gradual increments in demand across all categories. Instead, it generates inflexion points, thresholds at which entire categories of goods unlock rapidly.

This distinction is not semantic. It changes how we understand middle-class expansion, how firms allocate capital and how policymakers interpret rising incomes.

The relationship between incom...