Econometric analyses of European datasets suggest that income aspirations increase with current income.  This finding is consistent with the adaptation hypothesis - the notion that individual aspirations adjust to reflect personal circumstances and living conditions.  We add to these existing...

We add to the small set of studies that investigate adaptation to low income among the poor and extend the analysis to education and health. In accordance with previous studies, we find that beliefs about the amounts of income necessary to get by and live well increase with both own household...