When it comes to social comparison, inequality is perceived individually and in relation to others. The aim of the research project is to look at the delineation of reference groups for social comparisons and to develop a methodological framework for defining them. Here, Thailand serves as a case study to examine the composition of individual reference groups within the subjective inequality-wellbeing nexus. The emerging economy is plagued by severe forms of inequality and is, at the same time, a highly collectivist society in which every action is judged by the peer group. The project will be jointly led by Judith Möllers, IAMO, and Gertrud Buchenrieder, Universität der Bundeswehr (UniBW) Munich and Martin Luther University (MLU) Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Other partners in this project include Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, and the University of East Anglia, UK. The three-year project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
