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Why Do We Care About Having More than Others? Socioeconomic Determinants of Positional Concerns in Different Domains

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  • Murat Birdal
  • T. Ongan

Abstract

This paper uses survey data to provide empirical evidence regarding the importance of positional concerns in different domains and their determinants. In the survey, respondents are asked to choose between a world in which they have more of a good than others and a world in which their endowment along with everyone else is greatly improved, but they have less than others. Our results lend support to the claim that positional concerns play a crucial role in the decision-making process of individuals, though they appear to be more influential in some domains than others. Moreover, empirical results point out relationships between the age, gender, education, and income level of the respondents and their positional concerns in different domains. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Murat Birdal & T. Ongan, 2016. "Why Do We Care About Having More than Others? Socioeconomic Determinants of Positional Concerns in Different Domains," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 727-738, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:126:y:2016:i:2:p:727-738
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0914-9
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    2. 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.
    3. Celse, Jérémy & Galia, Fabrice & Max, Sylvain, 2017. "Are (negative) emotions to blame for being positional? An experimental investigation of the impact of emotional states on status preferences," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 122-130.
    4. 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.
    5. Monroy-Gómez-Franco, Luis, 2023. "The importance of positional mobility for regional comparisons," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 322-333.

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