nep-hap 2014-11-01 papers

on Economics of Happiness

Issue of 2014‒11‒01
two papers chosen by

Keeping Up with the Joneses: Who Loses Out? By David Ulph
The Effects of Union Job Dissatisfaction on Quits Creation Date: 1993 By P.W. Miller; C. Mulvey

Keeping Up with the Joneses: Who Loses Out?

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:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1412&r=hap

The Effects of Union Job Dissatisfaction on Quits Creation Date: 1993

By: P.W. Miller; C. Mulvey

URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:93-08&r=hap

General information on the NEP project can be found at https://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.

NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.

By:	P.W. Miller; C. Mulvey
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:93-08&r=hap