The Effects of Ethnic Identity on Household Budget Allocation to Status Conveying Goods

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The Effects of Ethnic Identity on Household Budget Allocation to Status Conveying Goods

Author Info

Angela Fontes ()
Jessie Fan ()

Abstract

The theory of compensatory consumption suggests that a possible lack of traditional avenues for fulfilling needs for social status may lead ethnic minorities to shift measures of social status from traditional indicators such as occupational prestige to consumption indicators of status conveying goods. In this study we investigate whether a household’s ethnic identity affects its budget allocation to status conveying goods. Annual budget shares for apparel, housing, and home furnishings are used for measuring status consumption. Results show that Asian American households allocate more of their budget to housing, while African American more to apparel, compared to European households. Hispanic households allocate more of their budget to both apparel and housing than European American households, but to a lesser degree compared to Asian Americans to housing and African Americans to apparel. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Family and Economic Issues.

Volume (Year): 27 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 (December)
Pages: 643-663
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Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:27:y:2006:i:4:p:643-663

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Fernando Jaramillo & Fabien Moizeau, 2003. "Conspicuous Consumption and Social Segmentation," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Richins, Marsha L, 1994. " Valuing Things: The Public and Private Meanings of Possessions," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(3), pages 504-21, December.
McCracken, Grant, 1986. " Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(1), pages 71-84, June.
Bagwell, Laurie Simon & Bernheim, B Douglas, 1996. "Veblen Effects in a Theory of Conspicuous Consumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 349-73, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Solomon, Michael R, 1983. " The Role of Products as Social Stimuli: A Symbolic Interactionism Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(3), pages 319-29, December.

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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

Anna Paulson & Sherrie Rhine, 2008. "The Financial Assimilation of an Immigrant Group: Evidence on the Use of Checking and Savings Accounts and Currency Exchanges," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 264-278, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)

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