Income Distribution and Demand-Induced Innovations

S-Tier
Journal: Review of Economic Studies
Year: 2006
Volume: 73
Issue: 4
Pages: 941-960

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

We introduce non-homothetic preferences into an innovation-based growth model and study how income and wealth inequality affect economic growth. We identify a (positive) price effect-where increasing inequality allows innovators to charge higher prices and (negative) market-size effects-with higher inequality implying smaller markets for new goods and/or a slower transition of new goods into mass markets. It turns out that price effects dominate market-size effects. We also show that a redistribution from the poor to the rich may be Pareto improving for low levels of inequality. Copyright 2006, Wiley-Blackwell.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:restud:v:73:y:2006:i:4:p:941-960
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25