nep-hap New Economics Papers
on Economics of Happiness
Issue of 2014–11–01
two papers chosen by
Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
  1. Keeping Up with the Joneses: Who Loses Out? By David Ulph
  2. The Effects of Union Job Dissatisfaction on Quits Creation Date: 1993 By P.W. Miller; C. Mulvey
  1. By: David Ulph (University of St Andrews)
    Abstract: This paper investigates how well-being varies with individual wage rates when individuals care about relative consumption and so there are Veblen effects – Keeping up with the Joneses – leading individuals to over-work. In the case where individuals compare themselves with their peers – those with the same wage-rate - it is shown that Keeping up with the Joneses leads some individuals to work who otherwise would have chosen not to. Moreover for these individuals well-being is a decreasing function of the wage rate - contrary to standard theory. So those who are worst-off in society are no longer those on the lowest wage.
    Keywords: Veblen Effects; consumer behaviour; Nash equilibrium; wages and well- being
    JEL: D11 I31 J22
    Date: 2014–09–20
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1412
  2. By: P.W. Miller; C. Mulvey
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:93-08
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