Income inequality, status consumption and status anxiety: An exploratory review of implications for sustainability and directions for future research

Abstract

Income inequality has been associated with higher levels of status consumption with well-established harmful effects on health, wellbeing and economic stability. Research has suggested that status anxiety may be the mechanism that connects income inequality with status consumption, but the literature is disparate. In this interdisciplinary review, we draw together the evidence and explore the implications for climate change and sustainability, identifying that status anxiety may be a key driver of the higher levels of consumption in more unequal contexts. We find that status-anxiety fuelled consumption is associated with household debt, spatial inequalities, cycles of unsustainable consumption and longer commuting times, ultimately contributing to higher carbon emissions. We propose that further research should include more in-depth study and cohesive measurement of status anxiety and seek to better understand how to reduce unsustainable patterns of status-anxiety driven consumption. Reducing income inequality could have both short and long-term positive global environmental impacts.

Keywords

• Status consumption
• Status anxiety
• Income inequality
• Conspicuous consumption
• Climate change
• Sustainability