Bölgesel Gelir Eşitsizliğinin Gösterişçi Tüketim Harcamaları Üzerindeki Rolü: Türkiye Örneği

Öz

Veblenci tüketim yapısının 21. yüzyılda da geçerli olduğu söylenebilmekte, eşitsizlik artışıyla birlikte bireyler gelirlerindeki artışla orantısız bir tüketim harcaması düzeyini sürdürebilmektedir. Benzer şekilde Nispi Gelir Hipotezi de, bireylerin tüketim harcamalarının kendi gelir düzeylerinin yanında içinde bulundukları sosyal statü gruplarının gelir ve tüketim düzeylerine bağlı olduğunu kabul ederek gösterişçi tüketime işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışmada amacımız Türkiye'de gelir eşitsizliği ve gösterişçi tüketim arasındaki olası bağlantının yönünü iktisadi perspektiften ele almaktır. Çalışmada Gini katsayısı ile seçili gösterişçi tüketim harcama kalemlerinin toplam harcamalar içindeki payı arasındaki ilişki Türkiye'de bölgesel düzeyde panel en küçük kareler tahmincileri aracılığıyla konmaya çalışılmaktadır. Analiz kapsamında 2006-2014 periyodu esas alınmaktadır. Bulgular, eşitsizliğin gösterişçi tüketim harcamalarını genel olarak pozitif etkilediğini ortaya koymaktadır. Eşdeğer hanehalkı kullanılabilir fert gelirine göre sıralı gruplardan yüksek grupta yer alanların tüketimlerinin düşük grupların tüketim harcamaları üzerinde etkili olduğu da elde edilen başka bir bulgudur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Veblen etkisi,gösterişçi tüketim,gelir eşitsizliği,panel veri,Türkiye

THE ROLE OF REGIONAL INCOME INEQUALITY IN CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION: A CASE OF TURKEY

Öz

Veblen effect of consumption might be said to be still valid in the 21st century and associated with an increase in inequality, individuals might try to maintain consumption expenditures disproportionate to an increase in their income. Similarly, Relative Income Hypothesis points to conspicuous consumption by assuming consumption expenditures of individuals not only depending on their own income level but also on income and consumption level of status group they pertain to. The purpose of this study is to analyze the possible linkage between income inequality and conspicuous consumption on economic perspective. The relationship between the share of conspicuous consumption items in total expenditures and Gini coefficient is investigated in Turkey by regions via panel ordinary least squares estimators. In this context 2006-2014 annual period is considered. According to results, the effect of inequality on conspicuous consumption is generally positive. Another finding is that the income share of higher quintiles ordered by equalized household disposable income has a significant effect on conspicuous consumption of lower quintiles. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Veblen effect,conspicuous consumption,income inequality,panel data,Turkey

Kaynakça

1. Arman, C. 2013. The effect of income distribution on consumers' attitudes. Aydın Adnan Menderes University-Graduate School of Social Sciences-Department of Economics- Master’s Thesis.
2. Asteriou, D. and Hall, S.G. 2011. Applied econometrics. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
3. Bagwell, L.S., and Bernheim, B.D. 1996. Veblen effects in a theory of conspicuous consumption. The American Review, 86(3), 349-373.
4. Banerjee, A. V., Banerjee, A., and Duflo, E. 2011. Poor economics: A radical rethinking of the way to fightcapital. The Economic Journal, 122(563), 933-956.Bertrand, M. and Morse, A. 2016. Trickle-down consumption. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(5), 863-879.
5. Bilancini, E., and Boncinelli, L. 2012. Redistribution and the notion of social status. Journal of Public Economics, 96, 651-657.
6. Carr, M.D. and Jayadev, A. 2015. Relative income and indebtedness: Evidence from panel data. The Review of Income and Wealth, 61(4), 759-772.
7. Chai, A. and Kaus, W. 2012. Signalling to whom? Conspicuous spending and the local density of the social group income distribution. Papers on Economics and Evolution, 1218, 1-27.
8. Christen, M., and Morgan, R. M. 2005. Keeping up with the Joneses: Analyzing the effect of income inequality on consumer borrowing. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 3(2), 145-173.

9. Cooper, B., Garcia-Penalosa, C. and Funk, P. 2001. Status effects and negative utility growth. The Economic Journal, 111(July), 642-665.
10. Eaton, B.C., and Eswaran, M. 2009. Well-being and affluence in the presence of a Veblen good. The Economic Journal, 119(539), 1088-1104.
11. Frank, R.H. 1985. The demand for unobservable and other positional goods. American Economic Review, 75, 101-116.
12. Frank, R.H., Levine, A.S. and Dijk, O. 2014. Expenditure Cascades. Review of Behavioral Economics, 1, 55-73.
13. Harriger, J. L. 2010. Conspicuous consumption and inequality: Theory and evidence. State University of New York at Binghamton, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 3422696.
14. Heffetz, O. 2011. A test of conspicuous consumption: Visibility and income elasticities. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(4), 1101-1117.
15. Hopkins, E., Kornienko, T. 2004. Running to keep in the same place: consumer choice as game of status. American Economic Review, 94, 1085-1107.
16. Hopkins, E., Kornienko, T. 2009. Status, affluence, and inequality: Rank-based comparison in games. Games and Economic Behavior, 67, 552-568.
17. Jaikumar, S. and Sarin, A. 2015. Conspicuous consumption and income inequality in an emerging economy: Evidence from India. Marketing Letters, 26, 279-292.
18. Jaikumar, S., Singh, R., and Sarin, A. 2018) ‘I show off, so I am well off’: Subjective economic well-being and conspicuous consumption in an emerging economy. Journal of Business Research, 86, 386-393.
19. Kapaller, J. and Schütz, B. 2015. Conspicuous consumption, inequality and debt: The nature of consumption-driven profit-led regimes. Metroeconomica, 66(1), 51-70.
20. Khamis, M., Prakash, N., and Siddique, Z. 2012. Consumption and social identity: Evidence from India. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 83(3), 353-371.
21. Moav and, O., and Neeman, Z. 2012. Saving rates and poverty: The role of conspicuous consumption and human capital. The Economic Journal, 122(563), 933-956.
22. Robson, A. 1992. Status, the distribution of wealth, private and social attitudes to risk. Econometrica, 60, 837-857.
23. Roychowdhury, P. 2017. Visible inequality, status competition, and conspicuous consumption: evidence from rural India. Oxford Economic Papers, 69(1), 36-54.
24. Tatoglu, F. Y. 2016. Panel Data Econometrics: Stata Applied. Istanbul: Beta Publishing.
25. Turkish Statistical Institute-TUİK, https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/bolgeselistatistik/(Accessed: 01.03.2018-15.06.2018)
26. Veblen, T. 2003. The Theory of the Leisure Class. A Penn State Electronic Classics Series Publication, Ed: J.Manis, The Pennsylvania State University.
27. Wooldridge, J. M. 2010. Econometric Analysis of Cross-Section and Panel Data (2nd ed). London: The MIT Press.