We analyze the long-run growth effects of automation in the standard overlap- ping generations framework. We show that, in contrast to other neoclassical models of capital accumulation, automation does not promote growth but induces economic stagnation. The reason is that automation suppresses...

In this paper, I study technological change as a candidate for the observed increase in consumption inequality in the United States. I build an incomplete market model with educational choice combined with a task-based model on the production side. I consider two channels through which...

Despite the vast literature on the energy-efficiency gap, there is a general dearth of investment models which incorporate the consumer's temporal freedom in the investment decision. Focusing on the building sector, we formulate optimal investment in energy efficiency as a problem of wealth...

We examine the relationship between the choice of steelmaking technology and energy prices in Germany using data beginning 1970. The analysis indicates that technology choice began to cointegrate with comparative energy prices in the early 90s. The short and long-run effects of energy prices are...

We use data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures to study the characteristics and geography of investments in robots across U.S. manufacturing establishments. We find that robotics adoption and robot intensity (the number of robots per employee) is much more strongly related to establishment...

The life-cycle hypothesis implies that consumption would not decline at retirement. However, several studies found relevant declines in food consumption after retirement for the United States. Others concluded that this contradiction of the life-cycle hypothesis is solved by allowing for broader...

Mit der Begründung drohender Altersarmut wird seit einiger Zeit bereits die Eingliederung der bislang nicht gesetzlich versicherten Selbstständigen in die Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung diskutiert. Allerdings ist empirisch sehr wenig über die Altersvorsorge und die Vermögenssituation der...