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How important is discount rate heterogeneity for wealth inequaltity

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Author Info
Hendricks, Lutz A.

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Abstract

This paper investigates the role of discount rate heterogeneity for wealth inequality. The key idea is to infer the distribution of preference parameters from the observed age profile of wealth inequality. The contribution of preference heterogeneity to wealth inequality can then be measured using a quantitative life-cycle model. I find that discount rate heterogeneity increases the Gini coefficient of wealth by around 0.07 to levels that are close to the data. The share of wealth held by the richest 1% of households rises by around 0.04, but falls short of the data by more than ten percentage points. Discount rate heterogeneity also helps account for the large wealth inequality observed among households with similar lifetime earnings.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Iowa State University, Department of Economics in its series Staff General Research Papers with number 12724.

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Date of creation: 20 Feb 2007
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Publication status: Forthcoming in Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control,.
Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:12724

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Postal: Iowa State University, Dept. of Economics, 260 Heady Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1070
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Related research
Keywords: Wealth inequality preference heterogeneity

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment

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.:

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    Other versions:
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  13. Ana Castaneda & Javier Diaz-Gimenez & Jose-Victor Rios-Rull, 2003. "Accounting for the U.S. Earnings and Wealth Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(4), pages 818-857, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Hendricks, Lutz A., 2006. "The Intergenerational Persistence of Lifetime Earnings," Staff General Research Papers 12669, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
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  17. Javier Díaz-Giménez & Vincenzo Quadrini & José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, 1997. "Dimensions of inequality: facts on the U.S. distributions of earnings, income, and wealth," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, issue Spr, pages 3-21. [Downloadable!]
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  21. Trostel, Philip A, 1993. "The Effect of Taxation on Human Capital," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 327-50, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Cagetti, Marco, 2003. "Wealth Accumulation over the Life Cycle and Precautionary Savings," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 21(3), pages 339-53, July.
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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. Kazuo Mino & Yasuhiro Nakamoto, 2008. "Progressive Taxation, Wealth Distribution, and Macroeconomic Stability," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 08-22, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). [Downloadable!]
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