We demonstrate that interpersonal comparisons lead to keeping up with the Joneses-behavior. Using annual household data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we estimate the causal effect of changes in reference consumption, defined as the consumption level of all households who are perceived to...

We provide a comprehensive analysis of income inequality and income dynamics for Germany over the last two decades. Combining personal income tax and social security data allows us-for the first time-to offer a complete picture of the distribution of annual earnings in Germany. We find that...

We provide a comprehensive analysis of income inequality and income dynamics for Germany over the last two decades. Combining personal income tax and social security data allows us — for the first time — to offer a complete picture of the distribution of annual earnings in Germany. We find...

We provide a comprehensive analysis of income inequality and income dynamics for Germany over the last two decades. Combining personal income tax and social security data allows us – for the first time – to offer a complete picture of the distribution of annual earnings in Germany. We find...

We provide a comprehensive analysis of income inequality and income dynamics for Germany over the last two decades. Combining personal income tax and social security data allows us - for the first time - to offer a complete picture of the distribution of annual earnings in Germany. We find that...

In this paper we estimate the relevance of habits versus interpersonal comparisons for the consumption behavior of U.S. households. We exploit information from the recently released consumption expenditure data of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) covering the time span from 1999 to...

Neuere Studien zur Einkommensverteilung in Deutschland verdeutlichen, dass die Untererfassung von Spitzeneinkommen in den zumeist verwendeten Umfragedaten zu erheblichen Fehleinschätzungen über die Entwicklung der Ungleichheit führt. Eine realitätsnahe Berücksichtigung von Spitzeneinkommen...

Analysen zur Einkommensverteilung in Deutschland anhand administrativer Daten des Taxpayer-Panels zeigen einen engen Zusammenhang zwischen Spitzeneinkommen und Konjunktur. Im Gegensatz zu Berechnungen auf Basis von Haushaltssurveys wie dem Sozio-oekonomischen Panel wird deutlich, dass...

In dieser Analyse schätzen wir den Einfluss von Gewohnheits-(Habits) gegenüber Vergleichsmotiven (Envy) zur Erklärung des Konsumverhaltens US-amerikanischer Haushalte. Wir verwenden Daten der seit August 2013 erhältlichen Konsumerhebungen des Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) für den...

In this paper we demonstrate that interpersonal comparisons do not only influence people's level of utility but also lead to "keeping up with the Joneses"-behavior as reference consumption substantially affects households' consumption-savings decisions. By applying the insights from the...