Conspicuous ethics: a Veblen effect condition for ethical consumption goods

ABSTRACT

This paper considers a class of ethical consumers who are characterized by price dependent preferences. It is hypothesized that ethical consumers derive esteem from displaying moral considerations in their consumption choices. A class of additive price dependent power utility functions is introduced and a condition for ethical Veblen effects, suggesting a positive correlation between the demand of ethical conspicuous goods and their prices, is provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethical consumption
• conspicuous ethics
• Veblen effects
• fair trade

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• D11
• D100

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research-Inspired Inquiry-Led (RIIL) projects fund, as part of the Exeter Education Incubator.