The Spirit of Capitalism and Stock-Market Prices
In existing theory, wealth is no more valuable than its implied consumption rewards. In reality investors acquire wealth not just for its implied consumption, but for the resulting social status. Max M. Weber refers to this desire for wealth as the spirit of capitalism. We examine, both analytically and empirically, implications of Weber's hypothesis for consumption, savings, and stock prices. When investors care about relative social status, propensity to consume and risktaking behavior wvildl epend on social standards, and stock prices will be volatile. The spirit of capitalism seems to be a driving force behind stock-market volatility and economic growth.
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| Length: | 26 pages |
| Date of creation: | 1996 |
| Date of revision: | |
| Publication status: | Published in The American Economic Review, Vol. 86, No. 1 (Mar., 1996), pp. 133-157 |
| Handle: | RePEc:cuf:wpaper:511 |
| Contact details of provider: | Web page: http://cema.cufe.edu.cn/ More information through EDIRC
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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.:
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