Kuegler, Alice2012-03-192012-03-192009-01-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4019This paper proposes that individuals care about the relative income of proximate reference groups. Making use of self-reported life satisfaction as a proxy for unobservable utility, the relative income of siblings is tested for relevance as a reference point for new sample data from Venezuela. Having greater perceived income than one's siblings is found to be positively linked to individual life satisfaction. This evidence supplements the scarce economic research on reference groups, supporting the hypothesis that individuals with proximate characteristics and resembling opportunities in life serve as points of comparison.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTINGADEQUATE INCOMEAGGREGATE DEMANDASYMMETRIC INFORMATIONAVERAGE INCOMEAVERAGE INCOMESBASIC NEEDSCHECKSCOMMODITIESCONSUMERCONSUMER BEHAVIORCONTRIBUTIONDECISION MAKINGDECREASING FUNCTIONDEMOCRACYDEPENDENT VARIABLEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSECONOMETRIC ANALYSISECONOMETRIC PROBLEMSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC MODELSECONOMIC PERFORMANCEECONOMIC POLICYECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMIC REVIEWECONOMIC SITUATIONECONOMIC THEORYEDUCATION PROGRAMSEMPIRICAL ANALYSISEMPIRICAL EVIDENCEEMPIRICAL FINDINGSEMPIRICAL MODELEMPIRICAL STUDIESEQUILIBRIUM LEVELEXPLANATORY VARIABLESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFUTURE INCOMEHOUSEHOLD SIZEHOUSEWIFEINCOME DATAINCOME EFFECTINCOME INCREASESINCOME INEQUALITYINCOME VARIABLESINCOMESINFLATIONJOB LOSSLABOR SUPPLYLACK OF KNOWLEDGELINEAR RELATIONSHIPLITERACYLIVING STANDARDLIVING STANDARDSLOSS AVERSIONLOW INCOMEMARGINAL PRODUCTSMARKET ECONOMIESMARRIED WOMENMEASUREMENT ERRORMEASUREMENT ERRORSMEDIAN INCOMEMEMBER COUNTRIESMINIMUM WAGEMONTHLY INCOMENEGATIVE COEFFICIENTNEGATIVE EFFECTNEGATIVE EXTERNALITIESNEGATIVE SIGNOFFICE WORKERSOIL PRODUCTIONPENSIONERPER CAPITA INCOMEPERSONALITY TRAITPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY REVIEWPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL STABILITYPOSITIVE COEFFICIENTPOSITIVE EFFECTPOSITIVE EFFECTSPOSITIVE EXTERNALITIESPOSITIVE RELATIONSHIPPOVERTY LEVELSPROSPERITYPUBLIC ECONOMICSPUBLIC POLICYQUESTIONNAIREREAL INCOMEREDISTRIBUTIVE TAXATIONREGRESSION ANALYSESRELATIVE EARNINGSRELATIVE INCOMERELATIVE POSITIONRISK SHARINGRISK SHARING ARRANGEMENTSSAMPLE SIZESAVINGSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSIGNIFICANT IMPACTSOCIAL CAPITALSOCIAL INDICATORSUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITSUTILITY FUNCTIONUTILITY FUNCTIONSVOTERSWEALTHWorld Bankhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-4820