Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study which factors affect consumer expenditure and how, when positional concerns matter. It also investigates how consumers finance and reallocate their expenditure, and modify their consumer baskets when members of their reference groups spend more on positional goods, and they do not want to lag behind.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is presented, and then a new model is developed from a behavioural economic perspective. It describes how consumers with various risk attitudes reallocate their consumer expenditure and modify their consumer baskets when consumption externalities influence their relative consumption due to a positional game, but they want to “keep up with the Joneses”.

Findings

Consumers with different risk attitudes finance and reallocate their consumption expenditures variously to sustain their relative positions. Risk-neutral, slightly and intermediately risk-seeking consumers achieve a lower utility level than others. They do not realise a utility-maximising consumer basket, as it includes a relatively low number of nonpositional goods, but this choice can be considered the best response in a positional game in order to sustain their relative position.

Originality/value

The relationship between positional and nonpositional goods is explicitly described. The model assumes that consumers can be classified based on their risk attitudes when positional concerns matter. It also describes how consumers with various risk attitudes reallocate their consumer expenditure when they want to sustain or improve their relative consumption in a positional game.

中文翻译：

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当职位问题很重要时的消费者支出

目的

本文的目的是研究哪些因素会影响消费者支出，以及当位置问题很重要时如何影响。它还调查了消费者如何融资和重新分配他们的支出，以及当他们的参考群体的成员在定位商品上花费更多并且他们不想落后时修改他们的消费篮子。

设计/方法/方法

介绍了文献综述，然后从行为经济学的角度开发了一个新模型。它描述了当消费外部性由于位置博弈而影响其相对消费时，具有各种风险态度的消费者如何重新分配他们的消费支出并修改他们的消费篮子，但他们又想“跟上潮流”。

发现

具有不同风险态度的消费者通过不同的方式融资和重新分配他们的消费支出，以维持他们的相对地位。风险中性、轻微和中等风险的消费者实现的效用水平低于其他人。他们没有实现效用最大化的消费者篮子，因为它包含相对较少数量的非定位商品，但这种选择可以被认为是定位博弈中为了维持其相对位置的最佳反应。

原创性/价值

明确描述了位置商品和非位置商品之间的关系。该模型假设，当位置问题很重要时，可以根据消费者的风险态度对消费者进行分类。它还描述了具有各种风险态度的消费者在位置博弈中想要维持或改善其相对消费时如何重新分配他们的消费支出。