Can Economists Measure Society’s Self-Absorption?

Last month, Bank of America Merrill Lynch released the compellingly titled report, “Vanity Capital: The global bull market in narcissism,” which put a price tag on the amount spent globally on products and services that enhance appearance or prestige. That price tag is huge: $4.5 trillion, according to the report — larger than the fourth largest economy in the world, Germany’s, with its GDP of $3.7 trillion — and still growing.

The immediate question the report raises is whether it’s even possible to measure such a thing. The premise — to quantify the dollar value of all purchases worldwide motivated in some way by vanity — is a little nutty at its foundation. The authors define “vanity capital” in terms that sound like Gordon Gekko and Abraham Maslow got together to deliver a self-help seminar: It’s “the pursuit of, and the accumulation of, attributes and accessories to augment self-confidence by enhancing one’s appearance and prestige. It is self-actualization through self-improvement and self-focus.”

Read the whole story at The Atlantic