Does Envy Destroy Social Fundamentals? The Impact of Relative Income Position on Social Capital
U of St. Gallen Economics Discussion Paper No. 2006-04
STICERD, London School of Economics (LSE) Development Economics Discussion Paper No. DEDPS 46
51 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2006
There are 2 versions of this paper
Does Envy Destroy Social Fundamentals? The Impact of Relative Income Position on Social Capital
Does Envy Destroy Social Fundamentals? The Impact of Relative Income Position on Social Capital
Date Written: March 2006
Abstract
Research evidence on the impact of relative income position on individual attitudes and behaviour is sorely lacking. Therefore, this paper assesses such positional impact on social capital by applying 14 different measurements to International Social Survey Programme data from 25 countries. We find support for a positional concern effect or envy whose magnitude in several cases is quite substantial. The results indicate that such an effect is non-linear. In addition, we find an indication that absolute income level is also relevant. Lastly, changing the reference group (regional versus national) produces no significant differences in the results.
Keywords: Relative income position, envy, positional concerns, social capital, social norm, happiness
JEL Classification: Z13, H26, I31, D00, D60
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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