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SOCIAL STATUS IN ECONOMIC THEORY
Author(s) -
Truyts Tom
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of economic surveys
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.657
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1467-6419
pISSN - 0950-0804
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00579.x
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , normative , positive economics , economics , public economics , social status , empirical research , sociology , social science , political science , epistemology , law , philosophy , artificial intelligence , computer science
Social distinction or status is an important motivation of human behaviour. This paper provides a selective survey of recent advances in the economic analysis of the origins and consequences of social status concerns. First, a selection of empirical research from a variety of scientific disciplines is discussed to underpin the further theoretical analysis. I then consider the origins and determinants of tastes for status, discuss the endogenous derivation of such preferences for relative standing and assess the different formalizations of these preferences. Subsequently, the consequences of preferences for status are studied for a variety of problems and settings. The last section discusses a number of implications of status concerns for normative economics and public policy.