We explore in this paper the consequences of status seeking preferences among agents contracting with a private … principal in the context of production. We examine in particular the case of envy and we show that in general envy entails … augmented distortions due to asymmetric information in optimal contracts. Furthermore if the principal neglects the preferences …

A worker's utility may increase in his own income, but envy can make his utility decline with his employer's income … his employer. This paper uses a principalagent model to study optimal incentive contracts for envious workers under … various assumptions about the object and generality of envy. Envy amplifies the effect of incentives on effort and, therefore …

natural emotional propensity for envy makes norms of equal division emotionally appealing. An alternative (but complementary …) possibility is that deviations from a norm of equal division would naturally be interpreted as threats to status, which would …

explanation is that people have a preference for status. This conclusion might be wrong due to their particular design. We …