Precautionary Savings and the Permanent Income Hypothesis

S-Tier
Journal: Review of Economic Studies
Year: 1993
Volume: 60
Issue: 2
Pages: 367-383

Score contribution per author:

8.043 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper derives the explicit solution of a dynamic stochastic optimal consumption problem for infinitely-lived agents whose preferences exhibit, in the presence of non-diversifiable labour income uncertainty, a constant elasticity of intertemporal substitution and constant absolute risk aversion. The constancy of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution, which implies that marginal utility at zero consumption is infinite, guarantees that the non-negativity constraint on consumption is never binding along the optimal path. The assumption of constant absolute risk aversion allows an explicit computation of human wealth, and provides a simple representation of the precautionary savings motive.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:restud:v:60:y:1993:i:2:p:367-383.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29