Conspicuous Consumption, Inconspicuous Leisure

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9703662
AutoresKenneth J Arrow (Stanford University), Partha Dasgupta (University of Cambridge), Partha S Dasgupta (University of Cambridge and University of Manchester)
Ano2009
Volume119
Fascículo541
PáginasF497-F516
Data de publicação2009-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
EditoraOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02318.x
OpenAlexW2091355705
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas21
Referências citadas29

It is commonly argued that because relative consumption appears to matter to people, they must be involved in a 'rat race': people work harder and consume more than they would have were optimum public policies in place. But although consuming more today would improve one's relative consumption now, it would worsen one's relative consumption in the future. In this article we identify the structure of felicity functions for which the two effects offset each other exactly. The finding goes some way toward explaining why, while household surveys suggest that relative consumption matters, the consumption behaviour of households has not pointed unambiguously to the presence of relative consumption effects. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2009

Consumption (sociology · Demographic economics · Economics · Environmental economics · Gas consumption · Offset (computer science · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · Computer Science · Engineering · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies