Rik Linssen|Luuk van Kempen|Gerbert Kraaykamp
Subjective Well-being in Rural India: The Curse of Conspicuous Consumption
Maastricht University|Radboud University Nijmegen|Radboud University Nijmegen
using data 697 individuals 375 rural low income households india test expectations effects relative income conspicuous consumption subjective wellbeing results multilevel regression analyses show individuals spent conspicuous consumption report lower levels subjective wellbeing surprisingly individuals relative income position affect feelings wellbeing motivated positional concerns people passively accept relative rank instead consume conspicuous goods keep joneses conspicuous consumption always comes account consumption basic needs analyses point positional treadmill effect consumption status goods