This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The tragedy (or virtue?) of in-kind redistribution: How the poor pays for the rich's status concerns

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Jan Schumacher

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The model describes a two person economy, in which one individual with positive exogenous income is altruist towards an individual with no income. The rich individual cares for her own social status. She evaluates her status by comparing disposable net cash incomes. When deciding on the size and on the structure of redistribution, the rich person decides that at least part of the redistribution is done in–kind, even if a private substitute for the publicly provided good is available. The amount of in–kind transfers that is provided exceeds the unconstrained Marshallian demand of the poor individual for the good in question. Hence, optimal policy restricts the poor in his allocative choices. The overall resource transfer is lower when the richer cares for her status compared to a situation in which she does not.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.bgpe.de/texte/DP/039_schumacher.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: First version, 2008
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE) in its series Working Papers with number 039.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 23 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:bav:wpaper:039_schumacher

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.bgpe.de/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Steffen Mueller).

Related research
Keywords: Redistribution in–kind transfers altruism status

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS was sponsored from 1997 to 2002 by the Université du Québec à Montréal.

This page was last updated on 2008-7-16.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.