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Conspicuous Spending And The Income Distribution Of Social Groups

Author

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  • Andreas Chai
  • Wolfhard Kaus
  • Christian Kiedaisch

Abstract

Using South African household expenditure data, we analyze how the spending of a household on visible goods, such as jewelry and clothes, depends on the distribution of income within its social group. We find that this spending is positively correlated with the share of peers who possess a similar income level to the household, what we dub the “local income share.” Moreover, we find that the spending of a household on visible goods is positively correlated with the average income of peers that are poorer than this household. We interpret this as evidence for cascade effects through which income changes among the poorest in the social group can trigger adjustments in the visible spending patterns of the wealthy. In line with previous research (Charles et al. 2009), we also find that visible spending of a household is negatively correlated with the average income of its social group. We present a simple model of status competition based on Hopkins and Kornienko (2004) that synthesizes these effects and can account for our results. (JEL D12, D31, O12)

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Chai & Wolfhard Kaus & Christian Kiedaisch, 2019. "Conspicuous Spending And The Income Distribution Of Social Groups," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(3), pages 1324-1341, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:57:y:2019:i:3:p:1324-1341
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12756
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kuhn, Lena & Bobojonov, Ihtiyor & Moritz, Laura, 2024. "Being well-in with the Joneses? A lab-in-the-field experiment on conspicuous consumption among rural communities," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 60(6), pages 956-974.
    2. Chai, Andreas & Stepanova, Elena & Moneta, Alessio, 2023. "Quantifying expenditure hierarchies and the expansion of global consumption diversity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 860-886.
    3. Silvia Emili & Federica Galli, 2022. "Self-perceptions and perceptions of peers: their role in understanding expenditure behaviours," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4573-4597, December.
    4. Leites, Martín & Rivero, Analía & Salas, Gonzalo, 2024. "The positionality of goods and the positional concern’s origin," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Mitra, Aruni & Mukherji, Ronit, 2024. "Class, Caste and Conspicuous Consumption in India," MPRA Paper 121824, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Deepika Kandpal & Dibyendu Maiti, 2022. "Social Identity, Local Neighbourhood Effect and Conspicuous Consumption: Evidence From India," Working papers 327, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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