The Relative Income Hypothesis: A comparison of methods

Sarah Brown (), Daniel Gray () and Jennifer Roberts
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Daniel Gray: Department of Economics, University of Sheffield

No 2015006, Working Papers from The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics

Abstract: Empirical studies of the relative income hypothesis have found both positive and negative effects of relative income on utility. Differences in data and methods make the results difficult to compare. To facilitate comparisons we explore the problem using a large UK household panel. Our findings highlight the sensitivity of the estimated relative income effect to the definition of the reference group and to the estimation strategy employed. Given the increasing attention paid to interdependent preferences in the economics literature, and the implications for problems such as the measurement of societal welfare, our findings are of interest for both the theoretical and empirical study of the relative income hypothesis.

Keywords: relative income; reference group; subjective well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8 pages
Date: 2015-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/economics/research/serps/articles/2015_006 First version, March 2015 (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: The relative income hypothesis: A comparison of methods (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:shf:wpaper:2015006

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