Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/92675 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
ISER Discussion Paper No. 759
Publisher: 
Osaka University, Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Osaka
Abstract: 
Ever since the classical works of Smith and Veblen, economists have recognized that individuals care about their relative positions and status in addition to their own consumption. This paper addresses a new framework of choice experiments in order to specify the shape of utility function with preference externalities. Theoretical studies on social preference, which are conducted without estimating or calibrating important parameters of social preference and put forward various propositions in accordance with the parameters assumed, can refer to the parameters estimated in this paper. Our findings complement those of happiness studies which support the view of social preference. We show that preference externality is, on average, characterized by jealousy among Japanese respondents, and also that heterogeneity in social preference parameters is driven by differences in income levels, age, and gender.
Subjects: 
Social preference
Relative utility
Stated preferences
Choice experiment
JEL: 
C25
D03
D62
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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