This paper examines whether historical ealth distributions can affect long run output and distribution despite rational saving behavior and absence of any technological nonconvexities or externalities. We consider a model of equilibrium short period financial contracts, where poor agents face...

This paper studies the persistence of inequality and lack of intergenerational mobility in a human capital accumulation model with perfect certainty, missing credit markets, endogenous training costs and dynastic utility maximization by households. Persistent inequality and immobility in steady...

This important Handbook reveals that most urban growth takes place in the less developed world and much of it represents over-urbanization – that is, urbanization in which most migrants cannot effectively compete for employment, cannot find adequate shelter and do not have the means to...