Schumpeterian Entrepreneurs Meet Engel's Law: The Impact of Inequality on Innovation-Driven Growth

This paper analyses the impact of inequality on growth when technical progress is driven by innovations. It is assumed that consumers have hierarchic preferences. As a result inequality affects demand and therefore the incentive to innovate. Whether more inequality is harmful or beneficial for growth depends on the initial distribution. Complementarities between a technical and a pecuniary externality resulting from the innovation process may generate multiple equilibria. Redistribution may push an economy trapped in underdevelopment to a high-growth regime.