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Consumption Inequality and Family Labor Supply

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  • Richard Blundell
  • Luigi Pistaferri
  • Itay Saporta-Eksten

Abstract

In this paper we examine the link between wage inequality and consumption inequality using a life cycle model that incorporates household consumption and family labor supply decisions. We derive analytical expressions based on approximations for the dynamics of consumption, hours, and earnings of two earners in the presence of correlated wage shocks, non-separability and asset accumulation decisions. We show how the model can be estimated and identified using panel data for hours, earnings, assets and consumption. We focus on the importance of family labour supply as an insurance mechanism to wage shocks and find strong evidence of smoothing of males and females permanent shocks to wages. Once family labor supply, assets and taxes are properly accounted for their is little evidence of additional insurance.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 18445.

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Date of creation: Oct 2012
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18445

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  16. Jonathan Heathcote & Kjetil Storesletten & Giovanni L. Violante, 2009. "Consumption and labor supply with partial insurance: an analytical framework," Staff Report 432, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
  17. Chul-In Lee, 2001. "Finite Sample Bias In Iv Estimation Of Intertemporal Labor Supply Models: Is The Intertemporal Substitution Elasticity Really Small?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 638-646, November.
  18. MaCurdy, Thomas E, 1983. "A Simple Scheme for Estimating an Intertemporal Model of Labor Supply and Consumption in the Presence of Taxes and Uncertainty," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 24(2), pages 265-89, June.
  19. Gianluca Violante & Greg Kaplan, 2011. "A Model of the Consumption Response to Fiscal Stimulus Payments," 2011 Meeting Papers 243, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  20. Johanna Wallenius, 2011. "Human Capital Accumulation and the Intertemporal Elasticity of Substitution of Labor: How Large is the Bias?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(4), pages 577-591, October.
  21. Orazio Attanasio & Gabriella Berloffa & Richard Blundell & Ian Preston, 2002. "From Earnings Inequality to Consumption Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(478), pages C52-C59, March.
  22. Heckman, James J, 1974. "Life Cycle Consumption and Labor Supply: An Explanation of the Relationship Between Income and Consumption Over the Life Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(1), pages 188-94, March.
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  1. Consumption Inequality and Family Labor Supply
    by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2012-10-21 20:23:54

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