Discussion paper

DP1187 Accumulation and the Extent of Inequality

This paper considers an economy where inequality originates from exogenous `talent' or `market luck' shocks and is transmitted over time by the same saving decisions that determine the aggregate rate of accumulation. The resulting interactions between factor- and personal-income distribution are studied in the light of existing analytic results from the precautionary-savings literature, and by numerical solution experiments. Aggregate savings are an increasing function of non-accumulated income variability, as individuals try to self-insure by accumulating wealth. In dynamic general equilibrium, however, non-accumulated income flows (`wages') depend endogenously on aggregate wealth accumulation. The level and/or the anticipated growth rate of wages affect microeconomic saving decisions so as to induce remarkable stability of long-run accumulated wealth distributions across parameter sets.

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Citation

Bertola, G (1995), ‘DP1187 Accumulation and the Extent of Inequality‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 1187. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp1187