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Growth and Redistribution: The Hedging Perspective

Author

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  • Larry Samuelson
  • Jakub Steiner

Abstract

We investigate the impact of wealth redistribution on economic growth, building on Kelly's (1956) optimal investment portfolio theory. A growth-optimal policy redistributes wealth from "lucky" overperforming individuals to underperforming ones, minimizing the systematic component of this redistribution in a myopic fashion. That is, the optimal policy minimizes the discrepancy between endowments and outcomes, counterfactually taking outcomes as independent of endowments. The myopia in this result follows from a decoupling argument that allows us to model the planner as independently choosing a growth-maximizing policy and a pattern of wealth circulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Larry Samuelson & Jakub Steiner, 2025. "Growth and Redistribution: The Hedging Perspective," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 250-267, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aerins:v:7:y:2025:i:2:p:250-67
    DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20240456
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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