Boyce, Christopher J. and Brown, G. D. A. (Gordon D. A.) (2008) Income rank and upward comparisons. Working Paper. University of Warwick, Department of Economics, Coventry.

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Abstract

Many studies have argued that relative income predicts individual well-being. More recently, it has been suggested that the relative rank of an individual’s income, rather than how that income compares to a mean or reference income, is important. Here the relative rank hypothesis is examined along with the additional hypothesis that individuals compare their incomes predominantly with those of slightly higher earners. A study of over 12,000 British adults using the British Household Panel Survey (a) confirms the importance of rank and (b) finds evidence that individuals compare upwards and to those most similar. This paper appears to be the first to show in fixed effect well-being equations that the influence of rank is more important than the influence of relative pay.

Item Type:	Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Divisions:	Other > Institute of Advanced Study Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	British Household Panel Survey, Social classes -- Research, Social comparison, Comparison (Psychology), Income
Series Name:	Warwick economic research papers
Publisher:	University of Warwick, Department of Economics
Place of Publication:	Coventry
Date:	28 January 2008
Number:	No.883
Number of Pages:	30
Status:	Not Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/1334

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