This article is deeply flawed... change in wages != change in standard of living.<p>But that aside, in addition to people wanting to take part in higher standards of living, I&#x27;d hypothesize that another driver is social status. In our culture, wealth seems to translate pretty directly to social status, and I think that&#x27;s a pretty core human need&#x2F;desire that most people aren&#x27;t willing to opt out of competing for.