Sara J. Solnick

Are Positional Concerns Stronger in Some Domains than in Others

For more than one hundred years, economists have discussed the concept of positional goods—that the utility conferred by many, perhaps even most, goods depends not only on the amount the individual consumes, but also on the amount others consume (e.g., Thorstein Veblen, 1899; James Duesenberry, 1949; John K. Galbraith, 1958; Robert Frank, 1985). While economic interest in “positional goods” is increasing (e.g., Mark Pingle and Mike Mitchell, 2002; Kenneth Arrow et al., 2004; Ed Hopkins and Tatiana Kornienko, 2004), the literature remains largely theoretical rather than empirical. If status concerns affect all items in the utility function equally (leisure as well as goods), the positional effect would operate like a lump-sum tax, reducing well-being without changing the allocation of time or money (Arrow et al., 2004). However, if positional concerns are stronger for some things than for others, then in order to understand how people can become better off in well-being, not simply in wealth, we must investigate how interpersonal competition interacts with material gains (Frank, 1997). Evidence about what goods are more positional than others is essential for correct policy recommendations (Gregory Besharov, 2002), but little is actually known about the relative positional rankings of items in the typical consumer’s utility function. Four hypotheses proposed in the literature are:

Smoking and suicide among nurses.

Current evidence suggests a strong positive correlation between cigarette consumption and depression; this study examined the relationship between cigarettes and suicide. Over 100,000 predominantly White, middle-aged, female registered nurses were followed via biannual questionnaires from 1976 through 1988. Respondents smoking 1 through 24 cigarettes per day had twice the risk and those smoking 25 or more cigarettes four times the risk of committing suicide, compared with those who had never smoked. Although no information on causation was available, this paper links cigarettes to another major health problem.

Child-Rearing Violence.

In 1989, a national, random sample of 801 adults was questioned about the punishment they received as children and the way they discipline their own offspring. Analysis revealed that verbal and physical discipline are not substitutes, but, instead, are commonly used together. Parents who yell frequently are the ones most likely to hit frequently, and vice versa. In addition, both physical and verbal violence appear to be transgenerational. Respondents who were spanked (yelled at) frequently as children are more prone to frequently spank (yell at) their own children. Still, most people are able to break out of the transgenerational cycle of punitive child rearing. This outcome may be found particularly among those who consider themselves to have been abused.

FUZZY DICE, DREAM CARS, AND INDECENT GESTURES: CORRELATES OF DRIVER BEHAVIOR?

In 1989 the Los Angeles Times conducted a telephone survey of over 1,800 Southern California motorists. We analyzed the data to determine whether personality and demographic characteristics were related to driver behavior. Fourteen percent of drivers were involved in a motor vehicle accident in the previous year, 8% reported driving when they had too much to drink, 20% ran at least one red light in the previous month, and nearly half said they often drove faster than the speed limit. Motorists under 30 years of age are especially likely both to engage in the three risk-taking behaviors and to be involved in a crash, even holding other factors constant. Drivers over 65 years of age take fewer risks, but have the same likelihood of having an accident per mile driven as middle-aged motorists. Surprisingly, drivers with more than a high school education are more likely to both speed and be involved in a crash. Those with fuzzy dice or bumper stickers are not readily distinguishable from other motorists in terms of accidents or risk-taking behaviors. Individuals driving their dream car are somewhat less likely than others to run red lights and drive after drinking. Motorists who made indecent gestures at other drivers, and particularly those who argue with other motorists tend to be unlawful and dangerous drivers. Youth and hostility toward other motorists are two of the most significant and important correlates of bad driving.

The incidence of stairway injuries in Austria.

Stairs are among the most hazardous features of the everyday environment, yet stairway falls have received little research attention. A stratified random sample of Austrian residents was surveyed in person in 1989. Of over 55,000 respondents, 147 reported a stairway injury in the previous year that limited activity for at least one day. Thirty-seven percent of these injuries resulted in hospitalization. Extrapolating to the entire country of 8 million people, each year some 20,000 Austrians sustain serious stairway injuries resulting in over 7,500 hospitalizations. The incidence of stairway injury increases monotonically with age, and females are more at risk than males. The stereotypical stairway injury victim is an elderly woman, not highly educated, who is unmarried and living alone.

THE HIT-AND-RUN IN FATAL PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS: VICTIMS, CIRCUMSTANCES AND DRIVERS

Hit-and-run pedestrian fatalities are classified as to victim characteristics, accident circumstances and driver characteristics. Over 18,000 pedestrian fatalities are reported in the Fatal Accident Recording System for 1989-1991. Twenty percent of the drivers involved left the accident scene. Children and senior citizens are the least likely to be left. Drivers more commonly run in urban areas, outside the South, on weekends and at night. Comparing motorists who left the scene but were later identified with the drivers who remained, drivers aged 66 and older are half as likely as younger drivers to leave the accident scene and male drivers are 60% more likely than female drivers to run. Drivers with previous driving while intoxicated arrests are twice as likely to run as those with no such arrests. Forty-nine percent of hit-and-run motorists involved in pedestrian fatalities are ultimately identified by the police. Other factors constant, drivers are more likely to be identified if the victim was female or a child. Drivers are identified 2.5 times as often when the incident occurred in daylight. Drivers appear to run more often when they are at fault and will be severely punished (e.g. when they are intoxicated) and when it is likely that they can escape detection (e.g. at night).

The ‘Twinkie Defense’: the relationship between carbonated non-diet soft drinks and violence perpetration among Boston high school students

Objectives To investigate the association of carbonated non-diet soft drink consumption and violence perpetration in a sample of Boston adolescents. Methods In a survey of Boston public high schools, respondents were asked how often they drank non-diet soft drinks and whether they had carried a weapon or engaged in physical violence with a peer. Regression analysis was used to determine the role of soft drink consumption in these behaviours. Results Adolescents who drank more than five cans of soft drinks per week (nearly 30% of the sample) were significantly more likely to have carried a weapon and to have been violent with peers, family members and dates (p<0.01 for carrying a weapon and p<0.001 for the three violence measures). Frequent soft drink consumption was associated with a 9–15% point increase in the probability of engaging in aggressive actions, even after controlling for gender, age, race, body mass index, typical sleep patterns, tobacco use, alcohol use and having family dinners. Conclusions There was a significant and strong association between soft drinks and violence. There may be a direct cause-and-effect relationship, perhaps due to the sugar or caffeine content of soft drinks, or there may be other factors, unaccounted for in our analyses, that cause both high soft drink consumption and aggression.

Soft drinks, aggression and suicidal behaviour in US high school students

Consumption of carbonated soft drinks has been rising among teens, and recent research has identified potential links to violence, depression, suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviour. We analyse a national data-set, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, to examine the relationship between soft drink consumption and aggression, depression and suicidal behaviours among US adolescents. We find that higher soft drink consumption is associated with a range of undesirable behaviours: being in a physical fight, feeling sad or hopeless and having suicidal thoughts and actions. The data display a ‘dose–response’ relationship, with the percentage engaged in aggression or suicidal behaviour increasing steadily with greater quantities of soft drinks consumed. While further research is needed to determine if the association is causal, soft drink consumption may be a useful indicator for both aggression and suicidal behaviours among American high school students.

Soft Drinks Consumption Is Associated with Behavior Problems in 5-Year-Olds

OBJECTIVE To examine soda consumption and aggressive behaviors, attention problems, and withdrawal behavior among 5-year-old children. STUDY DESIGN The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a prospective birth cohort study that follows a sample of mother-child pairs from 20 large US cities. Mothers reported childrens behaviors using the Child Behavior Checklist at age 5 years and were asked to report how many servings of soda the child drinks on a typical day. RESULTS In the sample of 2929 children, 52% were boys, 51% were African-American, 43% consumed at least one serving of soda per day, and 4% consumed 4 or more servings per day. In analyses adjusted for sociodemographic factors, consuming one (beta, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.1-1.4), 2 (beta, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.8-2.7), 3 (beta, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.6-3.4), or 4 or more (beta, 4.7; 95% CI, 3.2-6.2) servings was associated with a higher aggressive behavior score compared with consuming no soda. Furthermore, those who consumed 4 or more (beta, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-2.4) soda servings had higher scores on the attention problems subscale. Higher withdrawn behavior scores were noted among those consuming 2 (beta, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.3-1.8) or 4 or more (beta, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.8-3.1) soda servings compared with those who consumed no soda. CONCLUSION We note an association between soda consumption and negative behavior among very young children; future studies should explore potential mechanisms that could explain this association.

The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: Evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys 2007-2011

OBJECTIVES To describe the epidemiology of self-defense gun use (SDGU) and the relative effectiveness of SDGU in preventing injury and property loss. METHODS Data come from the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2007-2011, focusing on personal contact crimes. For property loss, we examined incidents where the intent was to steal property. Multivariate analyses controlled for age, gender of offender and victim, if offender had a gun, urbanicity, and thirteen types of self-protective action. RESULTS Of over 14,000 incidents in which the victim was present, 127 (0.9%) involved a SDGU. SDGU was more common among males, in rural areas, away from home, against male offenders and against offenders with a gun. After any protective action, 4.2% of victims were injured; after SDGU, 4.1% of victims were injured. In property crimes, 55.9% of victims who took protective action lost property, 38.5 of SDGU victims lost property, and 34.9% of victims who used a weapon other than a gun lost property. CONCLUSIONS Compared to other protective actions, the National Crime Victimization Surveys provide little evidence that SDGU is uniquely beneficial in reducing the likelihood of injury or property loss.