西方经济学中所谓“收入的外部效应”,就是指一个人对收入的满足感并不仅仅取决于收入,同时也取决于他的相对收入,即他与其他人收入的相对水平。大多数人具有对比性的偏好函数,别人的收入与他的幸福感“负相关”,别人的收入相对于他自己的收入越多,他就越不幸福,越感到痛苦和 The so-called “external effect of income” in Western economics means that one’s satisfaction with income depends not only on income, but also on his relative income, that is, the relative income between him and others. Most people have a comparative preference function, someone else’s income is “negatively correlated” to his happiness, and the more people’s income relative to his own income, the less happy he is and the more painful