This article considers four models of household wealth accumulation, which differ principally in terms of the length of the time horizon. The myopic model is characterised by a very short time horizon, with models levels of wealth tracking income, while life-cycle models suppose that individuals...

Using over one million observations, from 6 Transition countries and 14 "old" European countries, we show that, in stable EU economies, other people's income affects my utility directly, through comparison effects, whereas in more volatile Transition economies it affects me indirectly, in a...