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The modification of social space as a tool for lowering social stress

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  • Stark, Oded

Abstract

The social stress experienced by an individual from having a low relative income or from having a low income-based rank is a derivative of the individual's location in social space, and is the outcome of unfavorable comparisons with other individuals in that space. (The term social space stands for the set of individuals with whose incomes or with whose income-based ranks the individual compares his income or his income-based rank.) The stress that arises from unfavorable social comparisons can cause physical and mental harm. Essentially, there are three ways to thwart unfavorable income-related comparisons experienced by an individual: to operate on the individual's income or on a characteristic (an attribute) of the individual's income; to operate on the incomes or on a characteristic of the incomes of the individual's comparators; or to modify the individual's social space. The first two approaches feature extensively in the existing literature. The third does not. In this communication, I analyze this third approach, keeping in mind its application as a policy tool for lowering social stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Stark, Oded, 2024. "The modification of social space as a tool for lowering social stress," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:53:y:2024:i:c:s1570677x24000017
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101349
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oded Stark, 2020. "Relative deprivation as a cause of risky behaviors," The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 138-146, July.
    2. George A. Akerlof, 1997. "Social Distance and Social Decisions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(5), pages 1005-1028, September.
    3. Stark, Oded & Bielawski, Jakub & Falniowski, Fryderyk, 2017. "A class of proximity-sensitive measures of relative deprivation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 105-110.
    4. Stark, Oded, 2023. "On a tendency in health economics to dwell on income inequality and underestimate social stress," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social space; Unfavorable income-related comparisons; Low relative income; Low income-based rank; Social stress; Adverse health outcomes; Forming a health-related policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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