Risk, uncertainty, and the dynamics of inequality

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Monetary Economics
Year: 2018
Volume: 94
Issue: C
Pages: 60-78

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

The dynamics of wealth inequality are studied in a continuous-time Blanchard/Yaari model. Investment returns are idiosyncratic and subject to Knightian uncertainty. In response, agents formulate robust portfolio policies. These policies are nonhomothetic; wealthy agents invest a higher fraction of their wealth in uncertain assets yielding higher mean returns. This produces a feedback mechanism that amplifies inequality. It also produces an accelerated rate of convergence, which helps resolve a puzzle recently identified by Gabaix et al. (2016). An empirically plausible increase in uncertainty can account for about half of the recent increase in top wealth shares.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:moneco:v:94:y:2018:i:c:p:60-78
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25