Who Compares to Whom? The Anatomy of Income Comparisons in Europe

Clark, Andrew E.; Senik, Claudia

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02359.x

Cited by 537 publications

(478 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Finally, Frey et al (2007) analyse data on life satisfaction and TV consumption in Europe and provide evidence that TV viewers are on average less satisfied with their financial situation even after controlling for actual income. Clark and Senik (2010a) is, to our knowledge, the only study which looks beyond TV and assesses the role of the internet technology. They find that respondents without internet access tend to attach less importance to income comparisons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information technologies and subjective well-being: does the Internet raise material aspirations?

Lohmann

2015

Oxford Economic Papers

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract This paper examines whether access to modern information technologies, in particular the internet, has an impact on invididual positionality -meaning the degree to which subjective well-being is affected by income relative to others rather than absolute income. We provide empirical evidence that positionality and internet access are intertwined. Exploiting variation over time in a panel of European households, we find stated material aspirations to be significantly positively related to computer access in areas with advanced internet infrastructure. Furthermore, we report cross-sectional evidence from the World Values Survey suggesting an indirect negative effect of internet access on subjective well-being since people who regularly use the internet as a source of information derive less satisfaction from income. Together, the empirical findings highlight the importance of information sets for how individuals evaluate own living conditions relative to others and suggests a vital role for informational globalisation to affect positionality. Terms of use: Documents in

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information technologies and subjective well-being: does the Internet raise material aspirations?

Lohmann

2015

Oxford Economic Papers

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“…However, neither of them used individuals' concern at having a low relative income as a conciliator. Modern day evidence from econometric studies, experimental economics, social psychology, and neuroscience indicates that people routinely compare themselves with others who constitute their "comparison" or "reference" group, and that the negative outcome of upward comparisons (cf., for example, Andolfatto, 2002;Frey and Stutzer, 2002), impinges on their sense of wellbeing (Fliessbach et al, 2007;Takahashi et al, 2009;Clark and Senik, 2010). People are unhappy when their consumption, income, or social standing fall below those of others with whom they naturally compare themselves (those who constitute their "reference group").…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A bitter choice turned sweet: How acknowledging individuals’ concern at having a low relative income serves to align utilitarianism and egalitarianism

2015

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractWhen individuals' utility is a convex combination of their income and their concern at having a low relative income (the weights attached to income and to the concern at having a low relative income sum up to one), the maximization of aggregate utility yields an equal income distribution. This alignment of utilitarianism and egalitarianism is obtained for any number of individuals, and for general utility functions that are convex combinations of a power function of income and the concern at having a low relative income. The alignment can also hold when the weights sum up to a number different than one.

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“…Vast body of empirical research: For an overview, see Clark, et al (2008) and Frank and Heffetz (2011). European countries: Clark and Senik (2010). The intensity of social comparisons is estimated to be even higher in Japan (Clark, et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Economics Of Peace and Security Journal Issn 1749-852xmentioning

confidence: 99%

Envy in the process of development: Implications for Social Relations and Conflict

Gershman¹

2013

EPSJ

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This article examines envy as an important cultural link between inequality, institutions, development, and conflict. It argues that envy can be either a source of strife and stagnation or an engine for peaceful competition and growth. The fundamental conditions that activate the constructive side of envy and shut down its destructive side are access to productive investment opportunities, equality, security of property rights, and mild social comparisons. The dominant role of envy in society gives rise to a set of related cultural norms and beliefs that affect economic performance and social relations. While constructive envy is manifested in emulation or even envy-provocation -standard features of a consumer society- destructive envy produces a fear-of-envy culture that hampers economic incentives and creates an environment of suspicion and conflict.

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Who Compares to Whom? The Anatomy of Income Comparisons in Europe

Cited by 537 publications

References 24 publications

Information technologies and subjective well-being: does the Internet raise material aspirations?

Information technologies and subjective well-being: does the Internet raise material aspirations?

A bitter choice turned sweet: How acknowledging individuals’ concern at having a low relative income serves to align utilitarianism and egalitarianism

Envy in the process of development: Implications for Social Relations and Conflict

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