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Information‐Based Relative Consumption Effects
Author(s) -
Samuelson Larry
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
econometrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 16.7
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1468-0262
pISSN - 0012-9682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0262.2004.00479.x
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , econometrics , economics , sociology , social science
Preferences exhibit relative consumption effects if a person's satisfaction with their own consumption appears to depend upon how much others are consuming. This paper examines a model of an evolutionary environment in which Nature optimally builds relative consumption effects into preferences in order to compensate for incomplete environmental information.