Social Status, Education, and Growth

JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, 104, February 1996

Posted: 27 Jun 1998

See all articles by Chaim Fershtman

Chaim Fershtman

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics; Tinbergen Institute

Kevin M. Murphy

University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Yoram Weiss

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

This paper investigates the implications of social rewards on the allocation of talent in society and consequently on the process of economic growth. We consider two sources of heterogeneity among workers: nonwage income and innate ability. A greater emphasis on status may induce the "wrong" individuals, that is, those with low ability and high wealth, to acquire schooling, causing workers with high ability and low wealth to leave the growth-enhancing industries. This crowding-out effect, taken alone, discourages growth. Growth may be enhanced by a more egalitarian distribution of wealth, which reduces the demand for status.

JEL Classification: J24, J62, O15

Suggested Citation

Fershtman, Chaim and Murphy, Kevin M. and Weiss, Yoram, Social Status, Education, and Growth. JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, 104, February 1996, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3005

Chaim Fershtman

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 39040
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel
+972 3 640 7167 (Phone)
+972 3 640 9908 (Fax)

Tinbergen Institute ( email )

Burg. Oudlaan 50
Rotterdam, 3062 PA
Netherlands

Kevin M. Murphy

University of Chicago ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-7280 (Phone)
773-702-2699 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Yoram Weiss (Contact Author)

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 39040
Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel
+972 3 640 9715 (Phone)
+972 3 640 9908 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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