Cardinal Sins? Conspicuous Consumption, Cardinal Status and Inequality
研究收入不同的人群因关注炫耀性消费的相对剥夺感而产生的社会困境，发现纳什均衡导致消费过度且收入分配直接影响行为，富人收入增加可能推高所有阶层的消费并使几乎所有人更糟。
Abstract This paper analyzes the social dilemma arising when a large population of individuals with differing incomes have concerns over relative deprivation in terms of visible or conspicuous consumption. These relative concerns are cardinal—people care about the size of the gap between own and others’ consumption—and include inequity aversion, where negative comparisons are more important than positive, rivalrous preferences, and comparison with mean consumption. The resulting Nash equilibrium is inefficient, with consumption generally exceeding the socially efficient level. In this model, the income distribution has a direct effect on behavior and under rivalrous preferences, an increase in incomes for the rich can raise consumption at all income levels and make almost everyone worse off.