STATUS GOODS: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM PLATINUM CREDIT CARDS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bursztyn, Leonardo; Ferman, Bruno; Fiorin, Stefano; Kanz, Martin; Rao, Gautam
• 署名单位: University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California San Diego; The World Bank; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR); Harvard University
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjx048
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 1561-1595
• 关键词: SELF-AFFIRMATION; consumption

摘要

This article provides field-experimental evidence on status goods. We work with an Indonesian bank that markets platinum credit cards to high-income customers. In a first experiment, we show that demand for the platinum card exceeds demand for a nondescript control product with identical benefits, suggesting demand for the pure status aspect of the card. Transaction data reveal that platinum cards are more likely to be used in social contexts, implying social image motivations. In a second experiment, we provide evidence of positional externalities from the consumption of these status goods. A final experiment provides suggestive evidence that increasing self-esteem causally reduces demand for status goods, indicating that social image might be a substitute for self-image.