According to Veblen, people spend to increase their status, even if only by look

Question

According to Veblen, people spend to increase their status, even if only by looks, and not breeding. People will spend more to feel big, and if the price goes down for the same product, no one will buy it. A case in point is the disappearing dolphin species, the Vaquita, in Mexico. There are roughly 12 left in the whole world. The reason the Vaquita are dying off is because of the actual fish the local fishermen, tons of them, are fishing for, the Totoaba fish. Who the fishermen hunt these fish for are rich Chinese people in mainland China, who like to eat the swim bladder of this fish, and the Vaquita get caught in the netting along with the Totoaba. A small load of these bladders can sell for millions of dollars in China. Curiously, there is actually, a real gold mine near the area where these fishermen fish the Totoaba, but the fishermen ignore the gold and go for the fish. Why? Think in terms of Veblen.?

Explanation / Answer

The fishermen ignore the gold and go for the fish because they don't know how to extract the gold and going for the fish satisfies them because the Chinese pay them a lot of money for catching the fish as it is a status symbol for them; while gold is not such as big status symbol for their client the Chinese.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.