Keeping Up or Giving Up? Income Inequality and Materialism in Europe and the United States

We examine the extent to which income inequality is associated with materialistic values and behavior in Europe and the United States (US). In the US, existing research on materialistic behavior is largely focused on the study of shopping behavior and shows that, when income inequality is higher, individuals search for and buy products that are more luxury. In Europe, the evidence for this phenomenon is mainly based on survey questions on...