This paper examines how success-at-work, interpreted by both subjective and relative criteria, can motivate individuals to enhance their effort and utility. We employ a general specification utility function and show that the final effect of technological growth on individuals’ effort and...

This paper models a market for status contained in a knowledge economy. Technological progress favours the knowledge sector and inequality of income rises with productivity. We show that the expected utility of all agents can fall while output and productivity grow; and such an outcome of...

This paper argues that migration could trigger institutional development in the sending country. It is shown that the existence of rent-seeking institutions not only hinders the adoption of a more efficient technology, it also reinforces itself; while the possibility of migrating to a more...

This paper argues that the “superstar” phenomenon, as a natural outcome of features of knowledge-based products, has important relevance for - and has so far been overlooked by - endogenous growth theory. By modelling superstar phenomena as outcomes of winnertake-all contests in an...

This paper introduces a signalling model of conspicuous consumption in the context of an endogenous growth model. Agents purchase luxury goods to signal their social status. 'Invidious Comparison' takes place when rich agents successfully identify themselves, whereas 'Pecuniary Emulation' takes...

This paper examines how success-at-work, interpreted by both subjective and relative criteria, can motivate individuals to enhance their effort and utility. We employ a general specification utility function and show that the final effect of technological growth on individuals' effort and...

Entrepreneurship may not be good for growth. We study the role of entrepreneurship in the context of an endogenous growth model. The exercise of entrepreneurship has two features in our model: (i) Entrepreneurs do not carry out research, instead, they select projects from the researchers, and...

This paper studies migration and rent-seeking activities in a framework of heterogeneous ability. It is shown that, despite the depletion of productive resources known as the `brain drain,' the possibility of migration could sufficiently reduce participation in rent-seeking activities and...