I guess this might be the case in America but seriously? Economic gains up here in Canada tend to either go into reinvestment or leisure since life is your thing and having a fancier car than your neighbor is silly. I think that due to limits on the supply of leisure goods you will find that your second sentence is accurate - but I think that's due to the increased demand of leisure, not due to the increased demand of status (outside of a small portion of the population).