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Financial accumulation implies ever-increasing wealth inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Yuri Biondi

    (Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL)

  • Stefano Olla

    (Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL)

Abstract

Wealth inequality is an important matter for economic theory and policy. The recent rise in wealth inequality has been discussed in connection with the recent development of active global financial markets. The existing literature on wealth distribution links wealth inequality to a variety of drivers. Our approach develops a minimalist modelling strategy that combines three featuring mechanisms: active financial markets, individual wealth accumulation and compound interest structure. We provide mathematical proof that accumulated financial investment returns involve ever-increasing wealth concentration and inequality across individual investors most of the time. This cumulative effect over space and time depends on financial accumulation processes, including under efficient financial markets, which generate a fair investment game that individual investors repeatedly play through time.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuri Biondi & Stefano Olla, 2020. "Financial accumulation implies ever-increasing wealth inequality," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 15(4), pages 943-951, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jeicoo:v:15:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s11403-020-00281-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11403-020-00281-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuri Biondi & Simone Righi, 2019. "Inequality, mobility and the financial accumulation process: a computational economic analysis," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 14(1), pages 93-119, March.
    2. Francisco Cardoso, Ben-Hur & Gonçalves, Sebastián & Iglesias, José Roberto, 2023. "Why equal opportunities lead to maximum inequality? The wealth condensation paradox generally solved," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; Economic process; Compound return; Simple return; Minimal institution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C46 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Specific Distributions
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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