Social Identity, Local Neighbourhood Effect and Conspicuous Consumption : Evidence from India

The quest for social status is the driving force behind many human decisions, including the expenditure on conspicuous goods. Recent evidence shows that conspicuous consumption patterns vary across social groups. Further, rank-based status signalling models suggest that the income distribution of peers affects conspicuous consumption behaviour. Using recent nationally representative microdata from India, this paper investigates the caste-based inequality in conspicuous consumption patterns and the role of the income distribution of reference groups in explaining these differences. We find that social identity and economic inequality are essential determinants of conspicuous expenditure. Dalits and Adivasis spend around 7% more on conspicuous items than upper caste households. Consistent with the status signalling models, we find that this gap is significantly influenced by the disparities in the average income of the reference group, within-group income inequality and the share of peers with similar income, denoted by local density. Specifically, local density is found to have a strong influence on household conspicuous consumption decisions