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Capital and income inequality: An aggregate-demand complementarity

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  • Bilbiie, Florin O.
  • Känzig, Diego R.
  • Surico, Paolo

Abstract

A novel complementarity between capital and income inequality leads to a significant amplification of the effects of aggregate-demand shocks on consumption. We characterize this finding using a simple model with heterogeneity in household saving and income, nominal rigidities, and capital. A fiscal policy that redistributes capital income causes further amplification, whereas redistributing profits generates dampening. After an interest rate shock, consumption inequality is more countercyclical than income inequality, consistent with the available empirical evidence. Procyclical investment also requires a more aggressive Taylor rule in order to attain determinacy, and aggravates the forward guidance puzzle.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilbiie, Florin O. & Känzig, Diego R. & Surico, Paolo, 2022. "Capital and income inequality: An aggregate-demand complementarity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 154-169.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:126:y:2022:i:c:p:154-169
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2022.01.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Rude, Johanna, 2024. "Income Inequality and Aggregate Demand," MPRA Paper 120875, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Felipe Alves & Greg Kaplan & Benjamin Moll & Giovanni L. Violante, 2020. "A Further Look at the Propagation of Monetary Policy Shocks in HANK," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(S2), pages 521-559, December.
    3. Chan, Jenny & Diz, Sebastian & Kanngiesser, Derrick, 2024. "Energy prices and household heterogeneity: Monetary policy in a Gas-TANK," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(S).
    4. Cantore, Cristiano & Freund, Lukas B., 2021. "Workers, capitalists, and the government: fiscal policy and income (re)distribution," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 58-74.
    5. Adrien Auclert & Ludwig Straub & Matthew Rognlie, 2019. "Micro Jumps, Macro Humps: monetary policy and business cycles in an estimated HANK model," 2019 Meeting Papers 1449, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Joël Marbet & Galo Nuño & Omar Rachedi, 2023. "Inequality and the Zero Lower Bound," NBER Working Papers 31282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Tao Tang & Lizeth Cuesta & Brayan Tillaguango & Rafael Alvarado & Abdul Rehman & Diana Bravo-Benavides & Natalia Zárate, 2022. "Causal Link between Technological Innovation and Inequality Moderated by Public Spending, Manufacturing, Agricultural Employment, and Export Diversification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    8. Marco Ranaldi & Elisa Palagi, 2022. "Heterogeneity in Macroeconomics: The Compositional Inequality Perspective," LIS Working papers 848, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    9. Cristiano Cantore & Edoardo Leonardi, 2024. "Monetary-Fiscal Interaction and the Liquidity of Government Debt," Discussion Papers 2406, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    10. Cantore, Cristiano & Meichtry, Pascal, 2023. "Unwinding quantitative easing: state dependency and household heterogeneity," Bank of England working papers 1030, Bank of England.
    11. Cantore, Cristiano & Ferroni, Filippo & Mumtaz, Hroon & Theophilopoulou, Angeliki, 2022. "A tail of labour supply and a tale of monetary policy," Bank of England working papers 989, Bank of England.
    12. Stéphane Dupraz, 2023. "The Dynamic IS Curve when there is both Investment and Savings," Working papers 905, Banque de France.
    13. Dusan Stojanovic, 2023. "Quantitative Easing in the Euro Area: Implications for Income and Wealth Inequality," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp760, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    14. Luzie Thiel, 2023. "Monetary Policy and Inequality: A Two-way Relation," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202304, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    15. Roulleau-Pasdeloup, Jordan, 2023. "Analyzing Linear DSGE models: the Method of Undetermined Markov States," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    16. Charalampidis, Nikolaos, 2022. "Top income shares, inequality, and business cycles: United States, 1957–2016," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. Tsiaras, Stylianos, 2023. "Asset purchases, limited asset markets participation and inequality," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital; Income inequality; Aggregate demand; Complementarity; Monetary policy; Heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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