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To: dbblg who wrote (100399)	4/13/2000 4:38:00 PM
From: Sam Citron	Respond to of 164684

OT Ganesh, Thanks for the reference to Hirsch. "If a TV set is a useful example of a material good, education may not be the best example of a positional good. There are intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards for individuals in acquiring an education, just as there are intrinsic rewards for the group as a whole. Education is not just about jobs: if more people have knowledge and understanding the quality of social and political life should improve. Parking provides a clearer example of a truly positional good. If 100 cars are circling the block looking for parking spaces and there are only 20 spaces, 20 drivers will indeed find places but 80 will not. A lot of petrol (a material "good" for purposes of this example) will be burned, the car (also a material good) will wear out a bit more, time will be wasted and much emotional energy consumed in vain. Here increased competition for a scarce positional good clearly leads to greater consumption of material goods and to no net increase in human happiness. Indeed most of the 100 drivers are much less happy after their futile search than they were before." Hirsch: The positional economy home.vicnet.net.au