Accumulation and the Extent of Inequality

Giuseppe Bertola

No 1187, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: This paper considers an economy where inequality originates from exogenous `talent' or `market luck' shocks and is transmitted over time by the same saving decisions that determine the aggregate rate of accumulation. The resulting interactions between factor- and personal-income distribution are studied in the light of existing analytic results from the precautionary-savings literature, and by numerical solution experiments. Aggregate savings are an increasing function of non-accumulated income variability, as individuals try to self-insure by accumulating wealth. In dynamic general equilibrium, however, non-accumulated income flows (`wages') depend endogenously on aggregate wealth accumulation. The level and/or the anticipated growth rate of wages affect microeconomic saving decisions so as to induce remarkable stability of long-run accumulated wealth distributions across parameter sets.

Keywords: Factor-Income Distribution; Savings; Uninsurable Risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 E2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995-05
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