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Positional goods... or positional people? Implications for taxation and happiness

Author

Listed:
  • Colin Ash

    (Department of Economics, University of Reading)

  • J. Malcolm Dowling

    (Singapore Management University and University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Abstract

We report the results of surveys on positional concerns for income and leisure. The results confirm earlier evidence that a majority of people are positional regarding income. We also look at the distribution of both these positional concerns among our respondents, something which has not previously been investigated. Our findings point to the need for a more subtle approach than has previously been proposed for using taxation to correct distortions in the income-leisure choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin Ash & J. Malcolm Dowling, 2008. "Positional goods... or positional people? Implications for taxation and happiness," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2008-62, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    • Handle: RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2008-62
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    File URL: http://www.henley.reading.ac.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=32973&sID=119847
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Veblen, Thorstein, 1899. "The Theory of the Leisure Class," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number veblen1899.
    2. Richard Zeckhauser (ed.), 1991. "Strategy and Choice," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262240335, December.
    3. Oswald, Andrew J., 1983. "Altruism, jealousy and the theory of optimal non-linear taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 77-87, February.
    4. Sara J. Solnick & David Hemenway, 2005. "Are Positional Concerns Stronger in Some Domains than in Others?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 147-151, May.
    5. J. Solnick, Sara & Hemenway, David, 1998. "Is more always better?: A survey on positional concerns," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 373-383, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Duong, Ngoc T.B. & de Groot, Wouter T., 2018. "Distributional risk in PES: Exploring the concept in the Payment for Environmental Forest Services program, Vietnam," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 22-32.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Positional concerns; Relative income; Leisure; Taxation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D0 - Microeconomics - - General
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

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