Non-linear income taxes and linear commodity taxes are analysed when people differ with respect to ability, high-skilled agents have heterogeneous preferences, and neither individual abilities nor preferences are observable. The paper highlights how informational constraints may motivate...

We impose a horizontal equity restriction on the problem of finding the optimal utilitarian tax mix. The horizontal equity constraint requires that individuals with the same ability have to pay the same amount of taxes regardless of their preferences for leisure. Contrary to normal findings, we...

In this paper we propose a modified gravity model that takes into account that a population generally consists of heterogeneous groups, and we suggest a new statistical test for heterogeneity. We apply our new model to two real world data sets, and it turns out that this new model fits the data...

While most of the literature concerned with indeterminacy and endogenous cycles is based on the questionable assumption of a representative consumer, some recent works have investigated the role of heterogeneous agents on dynamics. This paper adds a contribution to the debate, highlighting the...

Given the key role of the taxable income elasticity in designing an optimal tax system there are many studies attempting to estimate this elasticity. A problem with most of these studies is that strong functional form assumptions are used and that heterogeneity in preferences is not allowed for....

This paper analyzes and computes the equilibria of economies with large numbers of heterogeneous agents who have different asset trading technologies, preferences, and beliefs. We illustrate the value of our method by using it to evaluate the implications of these heterogeneities through several...

The Tonle Sap wetland fishery was previously divided into 3 different management zones for conservation, open access fishing and private fishing. Rights to the private fishing zone involved auctions for exclusive rights to temporarily designated plots. This paper aims to explore the...

This paper aims to study the behavior of the average rational consumer of an economy populated by heterogeneous agents in a finite horizon framework. Heterogeneity takes into account both the subjective discount rate and risk aversion coefficient. Closed-form solutions for the optimal paths of...

Macroeconomic dynamic models are often criticized because the households’ behavior is summarized by a representative agent and, then, they do not take into account consumers’ heterogeneity. Reconsidering the Woodford (1986) infinite-horizon model and the Reichlin (1986) OLG model, we show...

In this study we investigate if risk attitudes explain non-enrollment into Medicare Part D. We find that respondents who are risk-tolerant as measured by the willingness-to-pay for a hypothetical insurance were significantly less likely to enroll in Part D.