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Abstract: Social capital is a person or group''s sympathy or sense of obligation for another person or group. The objects of sympathetic feelings have social capital. Those holding sympathetic feelings for others provide social capital. Because social capital providers internalize the consequences of their choices on the objects of their social capital, they trade with each other on different terms and at different levels than would occur in arm''s length transactions, all other things equal. Furthermore, changes in the distribution of social capital alter the terms and level of trade which in turn alter the distribution of income. This paper demonstrates mathematically the connection between changes in social capital and income distributions and then tests empirically the influence of social capital on household income distributions in the 50 U.S. states for the census years 1980, 1990, and 2000. The mathematical and empirical findings of this paper support the proposition that social capital measured by social capital indicator variables have important influences on the distribution of household incomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper addresses some of the questions raised in a debate between and in the Journal of Political Economy. At issue is what, on the basis of theory, the behaviour of households should be in relation to expenditure on food, as household size increases. One argument is that expenditure on food, per capita, should increase as household size increases, but analysis of the data gives very different results. Questions arise as to whether food is a public or private good within households, how food compares to clothing and whether there can be substitution away from food, for example towards clothing. For the purposes of addressing these and related questions in the Cyprus context, a household budget survey was undertaken, in which 625 responses were obtained. The paper describes the survey and uses the results of the survey to run regressions to identify the variables that relate significantly to expenditure on food. What we add to the discussion is the analysis of the determinants of expenditure on food in Cyprus, and the categorisation of this expenditure into food at home, take-away food, food in pubs and cafes, and food in restaurants. Our results tend to support ; we find, for example, that clothing is more private than food. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most accounts of why cities pass living wage ordinances stress the importance of grassroots coalitions that have successfully mobilized bias out of concerns for justice and fairness. On the basis of data from the Integrated Public Micro-Use Data Series (IPUMS) for the years 1950–1990, this paper argues that cities that passed ordinances had labor market characteristics that may have predisposed them to do so. These cities were also more likely to pass ordinances because of transformations in their labor markets that were occurring over several decades. It is these transformations that constitute a form of path dependence. Consequently, it is this path dependence that may account for why some cities were more conducive to the development of grassroots organizations and coalitions that were able to capitalize on changes over a 40-year period as a basis for mobilizing bias. Although the story of post-World War II economic transformations is nothing new, this paper seeks to make a systematic attempt to quantify the extent to which they may have made certain cities more likely to pass ordinances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper asked if changes in social capital influence the level and disparity of household income in the United States. Social capital is defined in this paper as one's sympathy (antipathy) for others and one's idealized self. Changes in social capital are expected to produce the following economic consequences. First, increases in social capital are expected to alter the terms of trade and to increase the likelihood of trades between friends and family. Second, increases in social capital are expected to increase an economic agent's concerns for the external consequences of his or her choices, internalizing what otherwise would be considered externalities. Third, increases in social capital between firms are expected to increase the likelihood that they will act in their collective interest. Fourth, increases in social capital are expected to increase the opportunities for specialization and the likelihood of trade. Finally, increases in social capital are expected to raise the average level of income and reduce the disparity of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] This paper analyses preference discontinuity: determinants and effect on magnitude and efficiency of benefit estimates. [•] Probability to have discontinuous preferences increases with young age, female gender, higher income, and non-coastal residence. [•] Also being in a hurry when filling out the questionnaire is positively correlated with discontinuity. [•] Effect of accounting for preference discontinuity on magnitude of estimates is small. [•] Efficiency of estimates improves when less important attributes for respondents are excluded from analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] This paper examines the factors affecting suicide in 13 European OECD countries. [•] We find a decreasing effect of per capita income on suicide in nine countries. [•] An increasing impact of divorce rates on suicide is also evident in nine countries. [•] Evidence on the impacts of fertility and alcohol consumption is relatively less. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is a growing tendency to see cohabitation as an equivalent alternative to marriage, and this article investigates how different these two unions are for a woman''s financial satisfaction and income sharing in Denmark, France and Great Britain. The analysis suggests that a woman''s financial satisfaction decreases with cohabitation as opposed to marriage due perhaps to the lack of income pooling of cohabiters. The paper however finds substantial heterogeneity among married couples; the difference between marriage and cohabitation is not only a result of the legal protection obtained by the marriage contract but is better explained by the level of relationship investment in marriage in terms of its duration. The systematic comparison of the three institutional frameworks points out that Denmark, as the country where marriage and cohabitation are most equated by law, is surprisingly the country where the relative difference between marriage and cohabitation for a woman''s financial satisfaction is the greatest. No relative variation in results is observed between Great Britain and France. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper proposes a simplified model of intrahousehold decision making where cooperative and noncooperative behavior are not mutually exclusive. Individuals choose the optimal share of income they wish to devote towards cooperation, where income is pooled and allocated collectively, and towards noncooperation, where income is allocated independently. Using the example of joint saving as an area of household cooperation, this model shows how limited autonomy and bargaining power can interact to create incentives for individuals to hide income. This result provides theoretical support for the call to collect survey data separately from individuals rather than from household representatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper shows that the positional bias underscored by is an experimental artifact. Quoted authors highlighted the importance of positional concerns by finding that people prefer to earn a fewer absolute amount of income but to earn a higher income than others. Why do people prefer to earn more than others? The proposed explanation is that people have a preference for status. This conclusion might be wrong due to their particular design. We conjecture that subjects, by indicating to prefer a state of the world in which they earn more than others, in reality signal a preference for equality. We replicated the same design as in and added a new option so as to disentangle positional concerns from egalitarian ones. We observe that most subjects express egalitarian preferences rather than positional ones. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses the use of fringe financial institutions (FFIs), such as payday loan and check cashing providers, by urban Aboriginal people based on a survey undertaken in Prince George, British Columbia. We found that 60% of FFIs’ clients surveyed self-identified as Aboriginal. Their characteristics, compared to the non-Aboriginal FFI clients, included having lower average incomes, lower levels of education, more likely to be female, a higher incidence of being unemployed, higher levels of financial exclusion, and less satisfaction with the service provided by FFIs. We find that government policy towards regulating the FFI industry is inadequate for meeting the basic financial needs of urban Aboriginal people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the importance of two forms of ‘impure’ altruism (“warm glow” and reputational concerns) as potential determinants of both time and money gifts. We first develop a comprehensive behavioral model which accounts for both types of donations, as well as for decisions about domestic and market hours of work. We then provide an empirical test of these drivers for giving using survey data for Italy. Results suggest that, according to the theoretical predictions, proxies for ‘impure’ altruism are important determinants of donations. Moreover, the unobservable determinants driving money and time donations are positively correlated, suggesting a certain degree of complementarity between the two decisions. Our findings also stress the importance of considering a behavioral model accounting for a full set of time and income uses to better characterize individual decisions to donate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper theoretically analyzes a situation wherein adults’ decisions on child labor are affected not only by materialistic utility but also by a social norm against child labor. The adult thus faces a tradeoff; on the one hand, household income rises if she sends her child to work. On the other hand, the adult suffers disutility from violating the social norm in so doing. We also suppose that the extent of disutility falls as more other adults have their children work. We then explore how the total amount of child labor in an economy changes as adults’ labor efficiencies rise or become more unequal. Our analysis reveals that a more equal distribution or rises in adults’ labor efficiency help decrease child labor only under certain conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Data in the European Community Household Panel are used to analyse the impact on self-reported satisfaction from a number of economic and demographic variables. The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of the relationship between life satisfaction and income utilizing also the panel property of the data. We find an impact from the level of income only for a group of Southern European countries. For the same group of countries the difference between individual and average change in income has a significant impact on satisfaction. For all countries in the panel we find a significant impact from the change in the individual income situation over the last year. We find a strong impact from changes in labour force status and a strong negative impact on satisfaction from being unemployed and a somewhat weaker impact from being outside the labour force. Further, the level of and change in self-reported health has a strong impact on satisfaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper argues that increasing average incomes and stagnating levels of happiness, as observed in the United States since the 1970s, do not constitute a paradox. First, we show that the effect of higher incomes has been more than counteracted by changes in other socioeconomic variables, notably the prevalence of marriage and divorce. Second, we show that the effect of a given amount of real income on happiness has not changed between the 1970s and the early 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Life expectancy, literacy rates, per capita income, mortality and morbidity statistics have been widely employed in empirical analyses to construct various indices of quality of life (QOL). The reason why so many indices of well-being exist in the literature is partly explained by the fact that such indices are sensitive to domains of QOL that are included in the measurement and how they are aggregated to arrive at a composite index. In this paper we model the QOL across countries as an unobservable latent link variable between observable causes and observable effects, which reduces the problem of bias, inconsistency, and arbitrary weightings of explanatory factors. We estimate and compare the QOL indices for 43 countries for the year 1999, noting differences between countries and varying role of various determinants of the QOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By using unique data from the section on social behavior of the Bank of Italy''s 2004 Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), the paper studies the individual determinants of several aspects of social behavior: attitudes to cooperating with anonymous others; interest in politics; participation in groups and associations; and propensity to rely on favoritism both in finding a job and in dealing with government red tape. Our findings suggest that these different aspects of social behavior are only weakly correlated to each other and are explained by different individual determinants. We find that older and more educated individuals display a greater willingness to cooperate, a stronger interest in politics, and more intense association activity. By contrast, the likelihood of relying on favoritism does not depend on age and education. We also find that home-ownership is associated with good social conduct, while urban residence has mostly a negative impact on public behavior. Finally, having left-wing political opinions increases the interest in politics, while it does not affect the other aspects of social behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the concern for relative standing among rural households in China. We used a survey-experimental method to measure to what extent poor Chinese farmers care about their relative income. We found compared to previous studies in developed countries, the concern for relative standing seems to be equally strong among rural households in China. This should be seen in the light of the rapid change China has undergone, with high growth, and increased inequality. Thus, the rural population, which is lagging behind, is suffering not only from the low absolute income but also from low relative income. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies have analyzed the (aggregate) effects of unemployment on attitudes towards immigrants and on right-wing crimes. In this paper, we investigate the effects of economic prosperity on attitudes towards immigrants, focusing not only on unemployment status but also on real household income. Using panel data from the German Socioeconomic Panel on around 33,000 individuals over the period 1992–2004 we find a robust negative relationship between real personal household income and self-declared concern about immigrants, both in levels and first differences. Both job loss and income reduction concerns about immigration. Our findings document an interesting interaction between economic variables and social attitudes which does not depend on economic growth per se but on its capacity to generate higher economic wellbeing at individual level, not only for unemployed people but also for those in employment, who may face a fall in real income during economic downturns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Self-reported health is a key quality-of-life measure affected by well-known cognitive biases, such as adaptation (or anchoring to past health conditions) along with a socio-economic vector. There are good reasons to think that both effects heterogeneously impact the health distribution. This paper carries on empirical exercise to test whether the effects of adaptation and income are indeed, affected by individual heterogeneity. We use a continuous scale of health (the Visual Analogue Scale or VAS) and ex-post evaluations of the individual health status to capture adaptation using quantile regression. Our findings suggest that adaptation effects exhibit an inverse U-shaped form, more common in the median of the health distribution. Income effects exhibit a marked and non-linear impact at low quantiles. This is consistent with the hypothesis that income investments for relatively healthy people translate into very moderate effects on health. Health changes evaluated by the median individual are relatively more affected by adaptation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper derives conditions under which concerns about relative income produce rational herding—the shift of individuals’ portfolios into the same direction as others’. To endure the generality of results, the model makes parsimonious behavioral assumptions and no assumption about the functional form of utility. The two most critical conditions are substitutability between one''s own income and relative income and diminishing marginal utility of relative income. The keeping-up-with-the-Joneses (KUJ) motive unambiguously contributes to rational herding. When relative income is viewed as a measure of status, however, the KUJ motive is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Economic theory that assumes personal income maximization predicts that a wife will under invest in her husband''s human capital. However, casual observation of real life marriages and experimental evidences show that outcomes are more efficient than the theoretical prediction. This paper argues that the gap between the theoretical prediction and experimental evidences is due to inappropriate assumptions in the theory. That is, the bias in the theoretical prediction is caused by the neglect of the non-material factors that play crucial roles in marriage and the neglect of the fact that individuals may behave altruistically in marital decisions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gambling is an ancient economic activity, but despite its universality and importance, no single explanation for the demand for gambles has gained ascendance among economists. This paper suggests that the demand for gambles is based on the ability to obtain “something for nothing.” That is, the gain from gambling is not merely additional income, but additional income for which the gambler does not need to work. Thus, to fully understand gambling behavior, it must be placed in a labor supply context. The theory is tested empirically using the Survey of Gambling in the U.S. Support for the theory is found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Religion may influence female employment decisions because different religions specify different life styles. This study investigates whether religion is a significant determinant of married and single women''s paid-work and full-time employment in Malaysia. Using the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey and a sequential logit approach, this paper finds that religion is less influential in urban areas than in rural areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This investigation uses a subjective well-being approach to provide a novel empirical answer to an old normative debate in economic literature: whether consumers use efficiently their income. Based on a large database from Mexico, the paper shows that there exists substantial X-inefficiency in the use of income; even when a relaxed criterion to define the thick frontier is followed. X-inefficiency in the use of income can emerge from personal errors and from social-organization deficiencies. Sustainable development concerns make it critical to focus on reducing X-inefficiency as an alternative way to increase economic well-being. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines simultaneity between religious intensity and income. Most of the literature to date has examined either the impact of religion on economic outcomes or the impact of economic outcomes on religious activities. Our estimation offers evidence of a bicausal relationship. We find frequency of attendance to religious services is a normal good; low-income households are less likely to be active in religious activities; and low-religious intensity households are less likely to be in the high-income category. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine how the presence of social attitudes (our views of the others as a collective) may influence the effectiveness of re-distributive policies. The analysis will be focused on individuals’ attitudes towards income which is directly connected to their own effort, and income which is derived from other people''s effort. It will be shown that traditional views about the inefficiencies of some forms of taxation and welfare provisions are not universally true, and that the distribution of social attitudes plays an important role in determining the efficiency of public policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In most countries, men have more life insurance than women, and are more likely to be members of employer pension plans. However, little is known about savings behaviour within households, for example, the name under which assets are held. Private savings could counterbalance or exacerbate inequality in other forms of pension access. This is important both in itself and as a determinant of future bargaining power of spouses. In this paper, we use a unique dataset to study the effect of women''s and men''s control over finances on the probability of each spouse contributing to tax-sheltered Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Prefrontal systems of the brain are logical regions to study in terms of finances, given their roles in executive functions. Individuals with neurological insults to prefrontal systems often show poor financial management, and healthy individuals consistently show activation of prefrontal systems during financial tasks. This paper reviews studies done in four community samples using self-rating scales of prefrontal system dysfunction. Three studies showed modest but consistent inverse relationships between income and three separate measures of prefrontal system dysfunction, relationships which remained significant after controlling for age, sex, and education. In a fourth study, credit card debt correlated positively to self-ratings of measures of prefrontal system dysfunction, which also remained significant after controlling for age, sex, education, and income. These results are convergent with prior studies, but extend the results into larger community samples, confirming that prefrontal systems play a role in specific aspects of finances including income and credit card use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Material deprivation has been measured in a variety of ways, such as in terms of income shortfalls or the experience of different types of material hardship. This paper tests the extent to which indicators of hardship are associated with income poverty. Using a U.S. dataset with detailed income and poverty information observed over a few years, we find that timing, duration, and depth of poverty are all associated with material hardships (food insecurity, difficulty meeting basic needs, lack of consumer durables, housing problems, neighborhood problems, and fear of crime). Even very short spells of poverty have a measurable impact on material well-being, although not all types of well-being are affected in equal measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We link life-satisfaction data to inequality of the pre- and post-government income distribution at the regional level, to estimate the degree of inequality aversion. Three different inequality measures are used. In addition, we investigate whether a reduction in inequality by the state increases individual well-being. We find evidence that Germans are inequality averse. Inequality reduction by the state does not increase well-being. On the contrary, inequality reduction imposes an excess burden on middle-income earners. The paper uses data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP) from 1985 to 1998. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Arguments for a positive link between trade and per-capita income are often met with the counterargument that “there is more to life than income”—the implication being that trade improves income, but degrades “quality of life.” In this paper, we attempt to address this counterargument by examining the impact of trade on countries’ social developments as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI)—a composite measure of education, literacy, and income published by the United Nations Development Programme. Utilizing a generalized method of moments (GMM) procedure in a panel data framework, we find that increases in trade are positively associated with future increases in social welfare. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Throughout Western Europe, the ideology of workfare has been adopted for the "workless." Social citizenship has been changed from status to contract. The change is justified in terms of "contracts of inclusion" between welfare agencies and recipients. Recipients are empowered and have "rights" to work or training and obligations to participate. Contracts of inclusion, however, necessarily exclude. The paper examines the concepts of rights, contracts, and client satisfaction in terms of the U.S. workfare experience. The evidence so far from Europe indicates similar problems in administering workfare for the most vulnerable. I conclude that the administrative failure is an additional reason to support a basic income guarantee. By providing an exit option, the worker-client relationship changes from vertical to horizontal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the tradeoffs inherent in guaranteed income proposals. Its perspective is international, using the Luxembourg Income Study and asking whether economic efficiency suffers when governments make greater efforts to protect the poor. Using two different measures of productivity growth, we find no big tradeoff between equity and efficiency. That is, during those times and in those countries where greater efforts were made to protect the incomes of the poor, productivity growth does not seem to be affected very much. This gives some hope that efficiency concerns are not a fatal objection to guaranteed income plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes creating a Citizen's Universal Fund (CUP) (Fondo Universal Ciudadano, FUC), an enterprise having social patrimony, to which each Colombian would be associated through acquiring a share promising to pay her a perpetual income (after holding the share for 20 years), which we shall call the Preferential Social Dividend (PSD), (Dividendo Social Preferencial, DSP). The proposal is motivated by two objectives: the search for an effective solution to the problem of poverty and achieving real freedom for Colombians within the framework of a globalised economy, where people examine the markets in the search for greater well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott have proposed a policy reform, called stakeholder grants (stakes), they argue will increase the amount of real freedom held by United States residents. Philippe Van Parijs has also proposed a policy reform, called the basic income, that he's justified by reference to its ability to increase real freedom. Ackerman and Alstott, although very sympathetic to the basic income, nevertheless prefer stakes to a basic income because they believe stakes, if enacted, would promote real freedom to a greater extent than would a basic income. This paper raises questions about this point of view. I argue that upon consideration of some pretty common decision making patterns it may be reasonable to conclude that putting appropriate constraints on freedom may be more real freedom promoting than otherwise and that such a conclusion may ground a preference for the basic income over stakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]