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Keeping up with the Joneses : who loses out?

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Ulph_EconDiscPap_1412.pdf (1.394Mb)
Date
20/09/2014
Author
Ulph, David Tregear
Keywords
Veblen effects
Consumer behaviour
Nash equilibrium
Wages and well-being
HB Economic Theory
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
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Abstract
This paper investigates how well-being varies with individual wage rates when individuals care about relative consumption and so there are Veblen effects – Keeping up with the Joneses – leading individuals to over-work. In the case where individuals compare themselves with their peers – those with the same wage-rate - it is shown that Keeping up with the Joneses leads some individuals to work who otherwise would have chosen not to. Moreover for these individuals well-being is a decreasing function of the wage rate - contrary to standard theory. So those who are worst-off in society are no longer those on the lowest wage.
Citation
Ulph , D T 2014 ' Keeping up with the Joneses : who loses out? ' School of Economics & Finance Discussion Paper , no. 1412 , University of St Andrews , pp. 1-9 .
Publication
 
ISSN
0962-4031
Type
Working or discussion paper
Rights
(c) the author 2014
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/5566

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