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The Rich and the Poor in a Simple Model of Growth and Distribution

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  • Kirill Borissov

Abstract

We consider a model of economic growth with altruistic consumers who care both about their consumption relative to others and the disposable income of their offsprings. We show that if the parameter accounting for the importance of positional concerns is lower than a certain threshold, then the wealth of all agents converges irrespective of the initial distribution of wealth. If, however, it is higher than the threshold, then all the capital is eventually owned by the households which were the richest from the outset.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirill Borissov, 2013. "The Rich and the Poor in a Simple Model of Growth and Distribution," EUSP Department of Economics Working Paper Series 2013/06, European University at St. Petersburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:eus:wpaper:ec2013_06
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mino, Kazuo & Nakamoto, Yasuhiro, 2012. "Consumption externalities and equilibrium dynamics with heterogeneous agents," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 225-233.
    2. Stéphane Lambrecht & Philippe Michel & Emmanuel Thibault, 2006. "Capital Accumulation and Fiscal Policy in an OLG Model with Family Altruism," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 8(3), pages 465-486, August.
    3. Von Schlicht Ekkehart, 1975. "A Neoclassical Theory of Wealth Distribution," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 189(1-2), pages 78-96, January.
    4. Fisher, Walter H. & Heijdra, Ben J., 2009. "Keeping up with the ageing Joneses," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 53-64, January.
    5. Moav, Omer, 2002. "Income distribution and macroeconomics: the persistence of inequality in a convex technology framework," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 187-192, April.
    6. Karen E. Dynan & Jonathan Skinner & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2004. "Do the Rich Save More?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(2), pages 397-444, April.
    7. Harald Uhlig & Lars Ljungqvist, 2000. "Tax Policy and Aggregate Demand Management under Catching Up with the Joneses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 356-366, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Borissov, Kirill & Hashimzade, Nigar, 2022. "Fiscal policy and inequality in a model with endogenous positional concerns," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    2. Borissov, Kirill & Kalk, Andrei, 2020. "Public debt, positional concerns, and wealth inequality," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 96-111.
    3. Kirill Borissov & Mikhail Pakhnin & Ronald Wendner, 2024. "Present-Biased Envy, Inequality, and Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 11090, CESifo.
    4. Borissov, K. & Pakhnin, M., 2018. "A Division of Society into the Rich and the Poor: Some Approaches to Modeling," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 32-59.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Growth; Inequality; Relative Consumption;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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