Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay

The identification of positional goods is crucial for understanding how social interactions motivate consumption decisions. Drawing on micro-data from the Estudio Longitudinal del Bienestar en Uruguay (ELBU), we identify a list of visible goods and assess whether their visibility varies according to...

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Main Authors: Martín Leites, Gonzalo Salas, Andrea Vigorito
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá) 2024-06-01
Series:Desarrollo y Sociedad
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/dys/article/view/8195/9498
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author Martín Leites
Gonzalo Salas
Andrea Vigorito
author_facet Martín Leites
Gonzalo Salas
Andrea Vigorito
author_sort Martín Leites
collection DOAJ
description The identification of positional goods is crucial for understanding how social interactions motivate consumption decisions. Drawing on micro-data from the Estudio Longitudinal del Bienestar en Uruguay (ELBU), we identify a list of visible goods and assess whether their visibility varies according to respondents’ characteristics. We find that expenditure on automobiles, jewelry and watches, clothing, and personal care rank at the top of the scale. The expenditure visibility index does not significantly vary across socio-economic groups but exhibits a positive and significant association with conscientiousness. Individuals who report a higher propensity to compare themselves with others are more likely to notice third parties’ expenditures on visible goods. Preferences for status and personality traits also provide complementary information about expenditure visibility, with considerably greater effects in the former case. Our findings may contribute to explaining a substantial portion of the observed heterogeneity in consumer choices.
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publisher Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá)
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spelling doaj-art-23beeee939aa4b6089767724df56a26a2025-08-20T01:57:25ZengUniversidad de los Andes (Bogotá)Desarrollo y Sociedad0120-35841900-77602024-06-019711114010.13043/DYS.97.5Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for UruguayMartín Leites0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5373-3457Gonzalo Salas1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3571-4962Andrea Vigorito2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9004-4346Universidad de la República, UruguayUniversidad de la República, UruguayUniversidad de la República, UruguayThe identification of positional goods is crucial for understanding how social interactions motivate consumption decisions. Drawing on micro-data from the Estudio Longitudinal del Bienestar en Uruguay (ELBU), we identify a list of visible goods and assess whether their visibility varies according to respondents’ characteristics. We find that expenditure on automobiles, jewelry and watches, clothing, and personal care rank at the top of the scale. The expenditure visibility index does not significantly vary across socio-economic groups but exhibits a positive and significant association with conscientiousness. Individuals who report a higher propensity to compare themselves with others are more likely to notice third parties’ expenditures on visible goods. Preferences for status and personality traits also provide complementary information about expenditure visibility, with considerably greater effects in the former case. Our findings may contribute to explaining a substantial portion of the observed heterogeneity in consumer choices.https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/dys/article/view/8195/9498visible goodspositional goodsvisibility indexsocial statusbig five inventoryuruguay
spellingShingle Martín Leites
Gonzalo Salas
Andrea Vigorito
Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
Desarrollo y Sociedad
visible goods
positional goods
visibility index
social status
big five inventory
uruguay
title Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
title_full Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
title_fullStr Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
title_full_unstemmed Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
title_short Visible goods, personality traits and preferences for status: New evidence for Uruguay
title_sort visible goods personality traits and preferences for status new evidence for uruguay
topic visible goods
positional goods
visibility index
social status
big five inventory
uruguay
url https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/dys/article/view/8195/9498
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AT gonzalosalas visiblegoodspersonalitytraitsandpreferencesforstatusnewevidenceforuruguay
AT andreavigorito visiblegoodspersonalitytraitsandpreferencesforstatusnewevidenceforuruguay