Revisiting positional choice: Survey evidence from Germany

Jan Behringer, Lukas Endres and Till van Treeck

No 33, ifso working paper series from University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Socioeconomics (ifso)

Abstract: We conduct a survey to test for concerns about relative standing based on a large sample of the German population. Our survey approach asks respondents to choose between two hypothetical states of the world, in which they receive either a larger relative endowment or a larger absolute endowment that leaves them worse off in comparison to others. We receive the highest shares of positional answers for household income and one's children's IQ. We show that respondents with a larger social comparison orientation are significantly more likely to indicate positional preferences. This finding is robust despite some limited evidence that unintended alternative explanations based on feelings of material deprivation, feeling overworked, respondents' work ethic and environmental concerns affect respondents' choice.

Keywords: Social Comparisons; Positionality; Survey Data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:285374

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