Do patient individuals care less about status? Experimental evidence

Using survey experiments, we examine how patience, or the ability to delay gratification, relates to positional concerns. We argue that impatience may intensify concerns about relative income and consumption, whereas patient individuals may be less status-oriented because they pursue long-term goals and invest to improve their future position. In computerised stated-preference experiments, we elicited respondents’ degree of positionality regarding monthly after-tax income, job prestige, a luxury house, and a luxury car from 392 respondents. We relate these measures to subjective patience and socio-demographic and economic individual characteristics. Patience is negatively associated with positional concerns, particularly for income and job prestige. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we include broad proxies ranging from personality traits and locus of control to risk preferences, envy, subjective well-being, and religiosity. The findings suggest that patient individuals are less motivated by status, with important implications for behavioural economics, welfare analysis, and public policies addressing consumption and inequality.