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| Author: | Brekke, K. A. Howarth, R. B. Nyborg, K. |
| Title: | Status-seeking and material affluence: evaluating the Hirsch hypothesis |
| Journal: | Ecological Economics
2003 : APR, VOL. 45:1, p. 29-40 |
| Index terms: | STATUS CONSUMPTION ECONOMICS EVALUATION |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | In the 1970s, Fred Hirsch argued that an increasing portion of expenditure is allocated to status-seeking as average income rises. This paper critiques this hypothesis from two points of view. First, the authors note examples from the historical and anthropological literatures suggesting that status-seeking is often important in societies with relatively low incomes. Second, the authors consider a set of analytical models that focus on the economic consequences of status-seeking. When social status is defined in terms of the algebraic difference between an individual's consumption of a status good and the average consumption level in society, Hirsch's hypothesis holds true, and growth in the level of productivity and output can lead to declines in human welfare. |
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