A concept coined by English economist Fred Hirsch (1931–1978) to describe goods or activities whose value depends on their exclusivity. For example, fame is considered a positional good since by definition only a few people can be famous and...

A GOOD whose access is determined by an individual’s income relative to others’. Many goods are positional because they are fixed in amount, as is land available for leisure purposes. When an ECONOMY is growing, positional goods assume more...

Positional goods are products and services whose value is mostly, if not exclusively, a function of their ranking in desirability in comparison to substitutes. The extent to which a good's value depends on such a ranking is referred to as its...

GABRIELLE: Monday morning. The phone rings. "Hiiiiii! How are you?" It's my little sister, who at 28 is not so little but to me she always will be. "Nauseous," I say. It's 9 am and I'm still in bed. "You're pregnant!" she half-jokes. "No...

The scene was vaguely familiar: Rick Pitino strolling the floor at Rupp Arena, a few hundred fans rapturously watching his team practice.The team's colors, however, were different. The only blue on the floor was the giant 'UK' symbol at half court. Instead, Louisville players dressed...

Brief sketches of victims in the Minneapolis bridge collapse:SHERRY ENGEBRETSENSherry Engebretsen, 60, of Shoreview, was the director of marketing at Thrivent Financial in downtown Minneapolis. She was headed home from the office on Tuesday, cruising in her classic Mercedes 280, when the bridge collapsed."That was...

GABRIELLE: Saturday. I wake up feeling sick today, nauseous and tired. I dry heave off the side of the bed uncontrollably. Todd rouses, "You OK?" "I'm fine, just need to eat." I scamper to the kitchen and open the fridge. Nothing looks appealing so I...