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Preferences and the Dynamic Representative Consumer

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Author Info
Christos Koulovatianos ()

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Abstract

This paper provides families of time-separable, twice continuously di?erentiable, and strictly concave utility functions of a group of consumers that are both su?cient and necessary in order to have linear aggregation in a single-commodity-type deterministic dynamic environment, in the presence of consumer wealth-, labor-productivity, and preference heterogeneity, for alternative settings where the rates of time preference can be the same or di?erent across consumers. The employed concept of linear aggregation pertains the existence of a representative consumer with a time-separable utility function. It is proved that when the rates of time preference are choice-independent and heterogeneous across consumers, a representative consumer exists if, and only if, the momentary utility functions of all consumers are exponential. Results are also provided for, (i) common across consumers choice-independent rates of time preference, and, (ii) heterogeneous choice-dependent rates of time preference, and compared with previously identi?ed su?cient conditions for aggregation in the existing literature.

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Paper provided by University of Vienna, Department of Economics in its series Vienna Economics Papers with number 0505.

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Date of creation: May 2005
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Handle: RePEc:vie:viennp:0505

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
D91 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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  1. Christian Gollier & Richard Zeckhauser, 2005. "Aggregation of Heterogeneous Time Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(4), pages 878-896, August.
  2. Christopher D. Carroll, 2000. "Requiem for the Representative Consumer? Aggregate Implications of Microeconomic Consumption Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 110-115, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Per Krusell & Anthony A. Smith & Jr., 1998. "Income and Wealth Heterogeneity in the Macroeconomy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 867-896, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Tjalling C. Koopmans, 1959. "Stationary Ordinal Utility and Impatience," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 81, Cowles Foundation, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
  5. Pollak, Robert A, 1971. "Additive Utility Functions and Linear Engel Curves," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(116), pages 401-14, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Francesco Caselli & Jaume Ventura, 2000. "A Representative Consumer Theory of Distribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 909-926, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Maliar, Lilia & Maliar, Serguei, 2001. "Heterogeneity in capital and skills in a neoclassical stochastic growth model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 25(9), pages 1367-1397, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Lilia Maliar & Serguei Maliar, 2003. "The Representative Consumer in the Neoclassical Growth Model with Idiosyncratic Shocks," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(2), pages 368-380, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Chatterjee, Satyajit, 1994. "Transitional dynamics and the distribution of wealth in a neoclassical growth model," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 97-119, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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