IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/1095.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Trade, Envy and Growth: International Status Seeking in a Two-Country World

Author

Listed:
  • Valente, Simone

Abstract

This paper analyzes international status seeking in a two-country model of endogenous growth: utility of agents in developing countries is affected by consumption gaps with the average consumer in advanced economies. By distorting terms of trade, status seeking: (i) may compensate for structural gaps in physical productivity, inducing convergence; (ii) may revert the link between trade and growth; and (iii) induces divergence when interacting with technological catching-up. In particular, envy in conjunction with catching-up predicts switchovers of growth leadership: when the advanced economy is both status- and technology-leader in the short run, convergence in interest rates - e.g. due to R&D spillovers - implies that the initially lagging economy becomes growth-leader in the long run, due to permanent price distortions induced by envy.

Suggested Citation

  • Valente, Simone, 2006. "Trade, Envy and Growth: International Status Seeking in a Two-Country World," MPRA Paper 1095, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:1095
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1095/1/MPRA_paper_1095.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luuk Van Kempen, 2003. "Fooling the eye of the beholder: deceptive status signalling among the poor in developing countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 157-177.
    2. Trimborn, Timo & Koch, Karl-Josef & Steger, Thomas M., 2008. "Multidimensional Transitional Dynamics: A Simple Numerical Procedure," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 301-319, June.
    3. Christian Bjørnskov & Axel Dreher & Justina Fischer, 2007. "The bigger the better? Evidence of the effect of government size on life satisfaction around the world," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 267-292, March.
    4. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1990. "Comparative Advantage and Long-run Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(4), pages 796-815, September.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Jaume Ventura, 2002. "The World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(2), pages 659-694.
    6. Lucas Bretschger & Sjak Smulders, 2003. "Sustainability and Substitution of Exhaustible Natural Resources. How resource prices affect long-term R&D investments," Working Papers 2003.87, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    7. Abramovitz, Moses, 1986. "Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 385-406, June.
    8. Carroll, Christopher D & Overland, Jody & Weil, David N, 1997. "Comparison Utility in a Growth Model," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 339-367, December.
    9. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz & Luis A. Rivera-Batiz, 2018. "Economic Integration and Endogenous Growth," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Francisco L Rivera-Batiz & Luis A Rivera-Batiz (ed.), International Trade, Capital Flows and Economic Development, chapter 1, pages 3-32, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Pietro Peretto & Sjak Smulders, 2002. "Technological Distance, Growth And Scale Effects," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(481), pages 603-624, July.
    11. Gardner, Grant W & Kimbrough, Kent P, 1990. "The Effects of Trade-Balance-Triggered Tariffs," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 31(1), pages 117-129, February.
    12. Bretschger, Lucas & Steger, Thomas, 2013. "Globalization, The Volatility Of Intermediate Goods Prices, And Economic Growth," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 402-430, March.
    13. Futagami, Koichi & Shibata, Akihisa, 1998. "Keeping one step ahead of the Joneses: Status, the distribution of wealth, and long run growth," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 109-126, July.
    14. Fisher, Walter H. & Hof, Franz X., 2005. "Status seeking in the small open economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 209-232, June.
    15. Sjak Smulders, 2004. "International capital market integration: Implications for convergence, growth, and welfare," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 173-194, January.
    16. Par Hansson & Magnus Henrekson, 1994. "What makes a country socially capable of catching up?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 130(4), pages 760-783, December.
    17. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1997. "Technological Diffusion, Convergence, and Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, March.
    18. Sjak Smulders & Lucas Bretschger & Hannes Egli, 2005. "Economic growth and the diffusion of clean technologies : explaining environmental Kuznets," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 05/42, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    19. Cole, Harold L & Mailath, George J & Postlewaite, Andrew, 1992. "Social Norms, Savings Behavior, and Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1092-1125, December.
    20. Kenji Fujiwara & Koji Shimomura, 2005. "A factor endowment theory of international trade under imperfect competition and increasing returns," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 273-289, February.
    21. Feenstra, Robert C., 1996. "Trade and uneven growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 229-256, April.
    22. Jaime Alonso‐Carrera & Jordi Caballé & Xavier Raurich, 2004. "Consumption Externalities, Habit Formation and Equilibrium Efficiency," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(2), pages 231-251, June.
    23. Moritz Schularick & Thomas Steger, 2006. "Does Financial Integration Spur Economic Growth? New Evidence from the First Era of Financial Globalization," CESifo Working Paper Series 1691, CESifo.
    24. Steger Thomas M., 2006. "On the Mechanics of Economic Convergence," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 7(3), pages 317-337, August.
    25. Walter H. Fisher, 2005. "Current Account Dynamics in a Small Open‐Economy Model of Status Seeking," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 262-282, May.
    26. Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado & Goncalo Monteiro & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2004. "Habit Formation, Catching Up with the Joneses, and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 47-80, March.
    27. Frenkel, Jacob A & Razin, Assaf, 1985. "Government Spending, Debt, and International Economic Interdependence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 95(379), pages 619-636, September.
    28. Rebelo, Sergio, 1991. "Long-Run Policy Analysis and Long-Run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 500-521, June.
    29. Frank, Robert H, 1997. "The Frame of Reference as a Public Good," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(445), pages 1832-1847, November.
    30. Bakshi, Gurdip S & Chen, Zhiwu, 1996. "The Spirit of Capitalism and Stock-Market Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 133-157, March.
    31. Corneo, Giacomo & Jeanne, Olivier, 1997. "On relative wealth effects and the optimality of growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 87-92, January.
    32. repec:bla:germec:v:7:y:2006:i::p:317-337 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Jonathan Temple, 1999. "The New Growth Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 112-156, March.
    34. Liu, Wen-Fang & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2005. "Consumption externalities, production externalities, and long-run macroeconomic efficiency," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 1097-1129, June.
    35. Lucas Bretschger & Thomas M. Steger, 2004. "The dynamics of economic integration: Theory and policy," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 119-134, January.
    36. Thomas M. Steger, 2003. "Economic Growth and Sectoral Change under Resource Reallocation Costs," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 03/30, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    37. Jeffrey James, 2000. "Consumption, Globalization and Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-51095-1, October.
    38. Karen Pittel & Amigues Jean-Pierre & Thomas Kuhn, 2005. "Endogenous growth and recycling : a material balance approach," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 05/37, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    39. Bill Dupor & Wen-Fang Liu, 2003. "Jealousy and Equilibrium Overconsumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 423-428, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simone Valente, 2009. "International status seeking, trade, and growth leadership," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 42(2), pages 554-589, May.
    2. Fujisaki, Seiya, 2013. "Taylor rules and equilibrium determinacy in a two-country model with non-traded goods," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 597-603.
    3. Fujisaki, Seiya, 2012. "Taylor rules and equilibrium determinacy in a two-country model with non-traded goods," MPRA Paper 40023, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simone Valente, 2009. "International status seeking, trade, and growth leadership," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 554-589, May.
    2. Valente, Simone, 2008. "Intergenerational transfers, lifetime welfare, and resource preservation," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 53-78, February.
    3. Di Maria, Corrado & Valente, Simone, 2006. "The Direction of Technical Change in Capital-Resource Economies," MPRA Paper 1040, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. repec:grz:wpaper:2014-09 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Ghosh, Sugata & Wendner, Ronald, 2014. "Positional Preferences, Endogenous Growth, and Optimal Income- and Consumption Taxation," MPRA Paper 60337, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Duernecker, Georg, 2007. "Growth Effects of Consumption Jealousy in a Two-Sector Model," Economics Series 201, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    7. Lombardo, Vincenzo, 2012. "Social inclusion and the emergence of development traps," MPRA Paper 36766, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Hof, Franz X. & Prettner, Klaus, 2019. "The quest for status and R&D-based growth," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 290-307.
    9. Jang-Ting Guo & Juin-Jen Chang, 2008. "Social Status and Optimal Income Taxation," Working Papers 200814, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2008.
    10. Chen, Jhy-hwa & Yang, Chih-yu & Shieh, Jhy-yuan & Chang, Juin-jen, 2020. "Consumption aspirations in dirty and clean goods and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 254-266.
    11. Fisher, Walter H. & Heijdra, Ben J., 2009. "Keeping up with the ageing Joneses," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 53-64, January.
    12. Nakamoto, Yasuhiro, 2009. "Jealousy and underconsumption in a one-sector model with wealth preference," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2015-2029, December.
    13. Simone Valente, 2005. "Genuine Dissaving and Optimal Growth," Others 0505009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Yoshiyasu Ono & Katsunori Yamada, 2018. "Difference or Ratio: Implications of Status Preference on Stagnation," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 346-362, September.
    15. Hof, Franz X. & Prettner, Klaus, 2019. "Relative consumption, relative wealth, and long-run growth: When and why is the standard analysis prone to erroneous conclusions?," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 12-2019, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    16. Wirl Franz & Novak Andreas J. & Hof Franz X., 2008. "Happiness due to Consumption and its Increases, Wealth and Status," Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(4), pages 1-34, December.
    17. Cecilia García-Peñalosa & Stephen Turnovsky, 2008. "Consumption externalities: a representative consumer model when agents are heterogeneous," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 37(3), pages 439-467, December.
    18. Vincenzo Lombardo, 2012. "Social inclusion and the emergence of development traps," Discussion Papers 13_2012, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    19. Schünemann, Johannes & Trimborn, Timo, 2023. "Boosting taxes for boasting about houses? Status concerns in the housing market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 120-143.
    20. Thomas Aronsson & Sugata Ghosh & Ronald Wendner, 2023. "Positional preferences and efficiency in a dynamic economy," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 61(2), pages 311-337, August.
    21. Walter H. Fisher, 2004. "Durable Consumption As A Status Good: A Study Of Neoclassical Cases," Computing in Economics and Finance 2004 96, Society for Computational Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Endogenous Growth; International Trade; Consumption Externalities; Productivity Di¤erences; Status Seeking; Technology Diffusion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:1095. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.