How Status Concerns Can Make Us Rich and Happy
2015 | journal article. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
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Details
- Authors
- Strulik, Holger
- Abstract
- This paper considers an overlapping generations model of economic growth populated by two types of individuals. Competitive types compare future consumption (i.e. wealth) with the mean. Self-sufficient types derive utility simply from their own consumption and do not compare themselves with others. I derive a condition under which the utility (happiness) of both types increases when the economy is populated by a larger share of competitive types. I show that a sufficiently high share of competitive types in a society can be inevitable for long-run economic growth to exist.
- Issue Date
- 2015
- Status
- published
- Publisher
- Wiley-blackwell
- Journal
- Economica
- ISSN
- 1468-0335; 0013-0427