Motives, consequences and taxation of conspicuous consumption: Classics, Veblen, and Keynes

Rafael Barbieri Camatta and Alexandre Ottoni Teatini Salles

Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 2025, vol. 48, issue 3, 521-541

Abstract: The present study aims to contribute to the theoretical discourse on the consequences and taxation of conspicuous consumption in economics by analyzing the perspectives of prominent economists from the late 1970s to the mid-20th century. Specifically, it examines the works of renowned classical economists (Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Rae, and John Stuart Mill), as well as of Thorstein B. Veblen and John Maynard Keynes. The analysis reveals a broad consensus among these scholars regarding the detrimental implications of this particular economic behavior. These include the impairment of subsistence and savings, devaluation of productive forms of competition between individuals, pursuit of inequality, scarcity of capital, and obstruction of full employment. The article concludes that classical liberals and Keynes agree that progressive taxation of luxury goods can be considered a less harmful and, to some extent, more desirable alternative to taxation.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01603477.2025.2482551 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mes:postke:v:48:y:2025:i:3:p:521-541

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/MPKE20

DOI: 10.1080/01603477.2025.2482551

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Post Keynesian Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().