Pride and Diversity in Social Economies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Maccheroni, Fabio; Marinacci, Massimo; Rustichini, Aldo
• 署名单位: Bocconi University; Bocconi University; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Boston University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.6.4.237
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 237-271
• 关键词: conspicuous consumption; preferences; CHOICE; COMPETITION; definition; happiness; aversion; utility; income

摘要

We study a two-period economy in which agents' preferences take into account their relative economic position. The study builds on a decision theoretic analysis of the social emotions that underlie these relative concerns. These emotions, envy and pride, respond to social losses and gains, respectively. Our main result is that envy leads to conformism in consumption behavior and pride to diversity. We thus establish a link between emotions that are the object of study in psychology and neuroscience, and important features of economic variables, in the first place the equilibrium distribution of consumption and income.