STATUS AND POVERTY
研究了个人的消费、代际转移和社会地位偏好，发现贫困家庭为显示地位而进行炫耀性消费，反而阻碍了脱贫，解释了看似不利于脱贫的消费选择。
We present a model in which individuals' preferences are defined over their consumption, transfers to offspring, and social status associated with income. We show that a separating equilibrium exists where individuals' expenditure on conspicuous consumption is a signal for their unobserved income. In this equilibrium, poor families that climb up the social ladder by the accumulation of wealth engage in conspicuous consumption that prevents them from escaping poverty. Our model may explain why the poor make some choices that do not appear to help them escape poverty.