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Keeping up with the ageing Joneses

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Author Info
Fisher, Walter H.
Heijdra, Ben J.

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Abstract

In this paper we consider the implications of relative consumption externalities in the Blanchard-Yaari overlapping generations framework. Unlike most of the macroeconomic literature that studies this question, the differences between agents, and, thus, in their relative position, persist in equilibrium. We show in our fixed employment model that consumption externalities lower consumption and the capital stock in long-run equilibrium, a result in sharp contrast to the recent findings of Liu and Turnovsky [2005. Consumption externalities, production externalities, and the accumulation of capital. Journal of Public Economics 89, 1097-1129]. In addition, we solve for the intertemporal path of the economy to investigate its response to demographic shocks, specifically, to permanent changes in the birth and death rates.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.

Volume (Year): 33 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 53-64
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Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:33:y:2009:i:1:p:53-64

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Related research
Keywords: Relative consumption Overlapping generations Demographic shocks;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Ryder, Harl E, Jr & Heal, Geoffrey M, 1973. "Optimum Growth with Intertemporally Dependent Preferences," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 1-33, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Ben J. Heijdra & Ward E. Romp, 2007. "Retirement, Pensions, and Ageing," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Bill Dupor & Wen-Fang Liu, 2003. "Jealousy and Equilibrium Overconsumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 423-428, March. [Downloadable!]
  5. Frank, Robert H, 1985. "The Demand for Unobservable and Other Nonpositional Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(1), pages 101-16, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado & Goncalo Monteiro & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2004. "Habit Formation, Catching Up with the Joneses, and Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 47-80, 03. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Obstfeld, Maurice & Rogoff, Kenneth, 1995. "The intertemporal approach to the current account," Handbook of International Economics, in: G. M. Grossman & K. Rogoff (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 1731-1799 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Layard, Richard, 1980. "Human Satisfactions and Public Policy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 90(363), pages 737-50, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Lars Ljungqvist & Harald Uhlig, 2000. "Tax Policy and Aggregate Demand Management under Catching Up with the Joneses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 356-366, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Wen-Fang Liu & Stephen Turnovsky, 2003. "Consumption Externalities, Production Externalities, and the Accumulation of Capital," Working Papers UWEC-2002-13-P, University of Washington, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2003. [Downloadable!]
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  19. Gali, Jordi, 1994. "Keeping Up with the Joneses: Consumption Externalities, Portfolio Choice, and Asset Prices," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 26(1), pages 1-8, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Bovenberg, A.L. & Heijdra, B.J., 1998. "Environmental abatement and intergenerational distribution," Discussion Paper 100, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  21. Frenkel, Jacob A & Razin, Assaf, 1986. "Fiscal Policies in the World Economy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 564-94, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  25. Corneo, Giacomo & Jeanne, Olivier, 1997. "On relative wealth effects and the optimality of growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 87-92, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Fisher, Walter H. & Hof, Franz X., 2005. "Status seeking in the small open economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 209-232, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  27. Van Long, Ngo & Shimomura, Koji, 2004. "Relative wealth, status-seeking, and catching-up," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 529-542, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  28. Andrew B. Abel, 2005. "Optimal Taxation when Consumers Have Endogenous Benchmark Levels of Consumption," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 72(1), pages 21-42, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  29. Ben J. Heijdra & Ward E. Romp, 2006. "Ageing and Growth in the Small Open Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  31. Bettendorf, Leon J.H. & Heijdra, Ben J., 2006. "Population ageing and pension reform in a small open economy with non-traded goods," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 30(12), pages 2389-2424, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  32. Walter H. Fisher, 2004. "Status Preference, Wealth and Dynamics in the Open Economy," German Economic Review, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 5(3), pages 335-355, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado & Ngo Van Long, 2009. "Envy And Inequality," Departmental Working Papers 2009-03, McGill University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Fisher, Walter H. & Heijdra, Ben J., 2008. "Growth and the Ageing Joneses," Economics Series 230, Institute for Advanced Studies. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Wendner, Ronald, 2009. "Conspicuous Consumption and Overlapping Generations," MPRA Paper 15527, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Wendner, Ronald, 2008. "Externalities in a Model of Perpetual Youth with Age-Dependent Productivity," MPRA Paper 11335, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Wendner, Ronald, 2009. "Growth and Keeping up with the Joneses," MPRA Paper 18001, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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