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Land, G versus R, and Infinite Debt Rollover

Author

Listed:
  • Tomohiro Hirano
  • Alexis Akira Toda

Abstract

Since McCallum (1987), it has been well known that in an overlapping generations (OLG) economy with land, the equilibrium is Pareto efficient because with balanced growth, the interest rate exceeds the growth rate (R > G), precluding infinite debt rollover (a Ponzi scheme). We show that, once we remove knife-edge restrictions on the production function and allow unbalanced growth, under some conditions an efficient equilibrium with land bubbles necessarily emerges and infinite debt rollover becomes possible, a markedly different insight from the conventional view derived from the Diamond (1965) landless economy. We also examine the possibility of Pareto inefficient equilibria.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomohiro Hirano & Alexis Akira Toda, 2026. "Land, G versus R, and Infinite Debt Rollover," CIGS Working Paper Series 26-002E, The Canon Institute for Global Studies.
  • Handle: RePEc:cnn:wpaper:26-002e
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    References listed on IDEAS

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