Is it better to be a big frog in a small pond or a small frog in a big pond? Here economist Robert H. Frank argues that concerns about status permeate and profoundly alter a broad range of human behavior. He shows how status considerations affect the salaries people earn the way they spend them and even many of the laws regulations and cultural norms they adopt. Provocative and insightful this book is sure to spark widespread and lively debate in classrooms and boardrooms alike.