Trickle Down Spending: Relative Income Effects on Consumer Spending in Social Relationships
Income disparity is known to influence economic, health, educational, and psychological outcomes. Yet little is known about how it affects consumer decisions. Five studies show that people spend more on purchases for those who earn less, even when controlling for absolute income. This is driven by feelings of situational sympathy.
Citation:
Max Alberhasky and Andrew Gershoff (2021) ,"Trickle Down Spending: Relative Income Effects on Consumer Spending in Social Relationships", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 49, eds. Tonya Williams Bradford, Anat Keinan, and Matthew Matthew Thomson, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 922-922.
Authors
Max Alberhasky, University of Texas at Austin
Andrew Gershoff, University of Texas at Austin
Volume
NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 49 | 2021
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