Wealth Inequality and Endogenous Growth

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lee, Byoungchan
• 署名单位: Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2022.11.004
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 132-148
• 关键词: Wealth inequality; Productivity slowdowns; aggregate demand; Real interest rates; Transition dynamics

摘要

Advanced economies have been experiencing productivity slowdowns, rising inequality, and low consumption-to-wealth ratios in recent decades. Using an analytically tractable endogenous growth model with heterogeneous households, I emphasize a channel that connects inequality with productivity growth through aggregate consumption demand and the returns to R&D. Given realistic increases in wealth (inclusive of income) inequality, the calibrated model generates transition dynamics featuring productivity slowdowns, low aggregate demand, and low real interest rates, consistent with the empirical trends. The welfare cost of rising inequality is substantial and is nearly equally split between changes in the consumption distribution and slow growth. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.