UNSPECIFIED (1998) Comparison-concave utility and following behaviour in social and economic settings. In: International Seminar on Public Economics, DEC 12-14, 1996, BONN, GERMANY.

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Abstract

This paper describes a theory of rational emulation and deviance. It assumes that individuals care about relative position (or 'status'), and constructs a model of decisionmaking in social and economic settings. The analysis shows why individuals who want to be different from others will, paradoxically, find it rational to imitate other people. The paper also provides a choice-theoretic foundation for a number of ideas in the social psychology and economics literatures. The central point of the paper is that concern about relative position or rank is, by itself, insufficient to bring about emulation. The reaction of an individual to others' behaviour depends crucially on the curvature of the comparison term in their utility function: individuals with comparison-concave utility follow others while those with comparison-convex utility act deviantly. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Conference Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Journal or Publication Title:	JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
ISSN:	0047-2727
Date:	October 1998
Volume:	70
Number:	1
Number of Pages:	23
Page Range:	pp. 133-155
Publication Status:	Published
Title of Event:	International Seminar on Public Economics
Location of Event:	BONN, GERMANY
Date(s) of Event:	DEC 12-14, 1996
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/15279

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