Status Goods: Experimental Evidence from Platinum Credit Cards*

Leonardo Bursztyn; Bruno Ferman; Stefano Fiorin; Martin Kanz; Gautam Rao

doi:10.1093/qje/qjx048

Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 133 No. 3 2018

Status Goods: Experimental Evidence from Platinum Credit Cards*

Leonardo Bursztyn¹; Bruno Ferman²; Stefano Fiorin³; Martin Kanz⁴; Gautam Rao⁵

¹ University of Chicago and National Bureau of Economic Research · ² São Paulo School of Economics–FGV · ³ University of California San Diego · ⁴ World Bank and Centre for Economic Policy Research · ⁵ Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research

open access

Abstract

This article provides field-experimental evidence on status goods. We work with an Indonesian bank that markets platinum credit cards to high-income customers. In a first experiment, we show that demand for the platinum card exceeds demand for a nondescript control product with identical benefits, suggesting demand for the pure status aspect of the card. Transaction data reveal that platinum cards are more likely to be used in social contexts, implying social image motivations. In a second experiment, we provide evidence of positional externalities from the consumption of these status goods. A final experiment provides suggestive evidence that increasing self-esteem causally reduces demand for status goods, indicating that social image might be a substitute for self-image.

DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjx048
Volume: 133
Issue: 3
Pages: 1561-1595
Language: en
Sources: bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Status Goods: Experimental Evidence from Platinum Credit Cards*

Abstract

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