We develop an analytical framework designed to solve and analyze heterogeneous-agent models that endogenously generate fat-tailed wealth distributions. We exploit the asymptotic linearity of policy functions and the analytical characterization of the Pareto exponent to augment the conventional...

Through certainty equivalent consumption (CE) measures, we show that dispersion of current earnings, expenditures, and net worth overstate welfare inequality. This is largely due to the unaccounted value of future earnings, which we call human wealth. The latter mitigates permanent-income...

The design of pension schemes is crucial in determining savings behavior. The impact of pension schemes on saving rates across countries remains to be an intriguing empirical question considering the complicated nature of the relationship between saving patterns and pension wealth. This paper...

This paper analyses the level of inequality in Spain and how it evolved over the course of the past crisis and the early stages of the current recovery. To this end, it first introduces the various dimensions of wage, income, consumption and wealth inequality, and studies how they have...

In a model calibrated to match micro- and macroeconomic evidence on household income dynamics, we show that a modest degree of heterogeneity in household preferences or beliefs is sufficient to match empirical measures of wealth inequality in the United States. The heterogeneity-augmented...

On what and to what extent private households in Germany spend money varies significantly depending on employment status, income, and age. As this study based on the most current official sample survey of income and expenditure from 2013 shows, unemployed households on average spend over half of...

Wofür und in welchem Ausmaß die privaten Haushalte in Deutschland Geld ausgeben, variiert erheblich mit dem Erwerbsstatus, Einkommen und Alter. Wie die vorliegende Studie auf Basis der aktuellen amtlichen Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe aus dem Jahr 2013 zeigt, geben Arbeitslosenhaushalte...

Using a lifecycle model of consumption, saving and portfolio choice combined with linked survey and administrative data on wealth and lifetime earnings we evaluate measures of retirement preparedness. We estimate heterogeneous discount factors for households and compare these estimates of their...

The effects of social distancing measures on income distributions and aggregate variables are examined with an off-the-shelf heterogeneousagent incomplete-market model. The model shows that social distancing measures, which limit households' labor supply, can decrease the labor supply of...

Die Entwicklung des privaten Verbrauchs ist eine entscheidende Größe bei der Erstellung makroökonomischer Prognosen im Rahmen der Volkswirtschaftlichen Gesamtrechnungen. Als erklärende Variable für die Konsumentwicklung spielt damit auch die Ersparnisbildung der Haushalte eine zentrale...