This paper studies a discrete-time utility maximization problem of an infinitely-lived quasi-geometric consumer whose labor income is subject to uninsurable idiosyncratic productivity shocks. We restrict attention to a first-order Markov recursive solution. We show that under the assumption of...

We show under lognormality that, when the Gini coefficient is stable over time, defining the poverty line as a fraction of a central tendency of the living standard distribution restricts the evolution of the poverty measures to be stable. That is, poverty does not change if the Gini coefficient...

This paper extends the indivisible-labor model by Hansen (1985) and Rogerson (1988) to include multiple consumers who differ in initial wealth and whose labor productivities are subject to idiosyncratic shocks. In the presence of idiosyncratic uncertainty, the optimal allocations for the...

It is not known to what extent welfare measures result from seasonal and geographical price differences rather than from differences in living standards across households. Using data from Rwanda in 1983, we show that the change in mean living standard indicators caused by local and seasonal...

This paper studies how the assumption of quasi-geometric (quasi-hyperbolic) discounting affects the individual consumption-savings behavior in the context of the standard one-sector neoclassical growth model with heterogeneous agents. The agents are subject to idiosyncratic shocks and face...

The paper proposes a theory of the wage arrears phenomenon in transition economies. We build on the standard one-sector neoclassical growth model. The neoclassical firms in transition make losses and use wage arrears as the survival strategy. At the agents' level, the randomness in the timing...

Spatial price dispersion varies because of climatic fluctuations, marketimperfections, economic growth or economic policies. These variations areoften neglected in poverty studies.In this paper, we propose a simple simulation formula to assess the effecton poverty of a change in the spatial mean...