Cooper, Ben; Garcia-Penalosa, Cecilia; Funk, Peter - In: Economic Journal 111 (2001) 473, pp. 642-65
This paper explains the observed stagnation of "happiness" measures through a growth model in which agents care about conspicuous consumption. "Normal goods" confer direct utility, while "status goods" confer utility only at the expense of others. Firms can improve the quality of both goods...