IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/col/000089/017674.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Bequests, Imperfections in Factor Markets, and Long-Run Inequality: A Theoretical Assessment of Piketty

Author

Listed:
  • Andrés Álvarez
  • Camilo Gómez
  • Hernando Zuleta

Abstract

The book Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty (2014) has renewed the public and scholar debate about wealth and income inequality. Theoretical critiques have focused their attention on a regularity pointed out by the author, namely, the growth rate of the economy is lower than the interest rate, r > g. However, two other important insights are key to understand the persistence of inequality: bequests and differences between factor prices and the marginal productivity of factors. We present an OLG model that incorporates these two elements and explores under which circumstances inequality between two social groups, rich dynasties and poor dynasties, is a long-term equilibrium result with economic growth. The model considers two goods, one essential and the other non-essential. We find that inequality between rich and poor dynasties is a long-term equilibrium when (i) the marginal productivity of labor of the essential good is bounded from above and the marginal productivity of capital in the non-essential good sector is bounded from below by a positive value; and (ii) factor remunerations are not determined by the standard economic forces of marginal product.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrés Álvarez & Camilo Gómez & Hernando Zuleta, 2019. "Bequests, Imperfections in Factor Markets, and Long-Run Inequality: A Theoretical Assessment of Piketty," Documentos CEDE 17674, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:017674
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/41109/dcede2019-45.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kiminori Matsuyama, 2002. "The Rise of Mass Consumption Societies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(5), pages 1035-1070, October.
    2. Katharina Knoll & Moritz Schularick & Thomas Steger, 2017. "No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 331-353, February.
    3. Robert B. Archibald & David H. Feldman, 2008. "Explaining Increases in Higher Education Costs," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 79(3), pages 268-295, May.
    4. Francisco J Buera & Joseph P Kaboski & Richard Rogerson & Juan I Vizcaino, 2022. "Skill-Biased Structural Change [“Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings”]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(2), pages 592-625.
    5. Stefan Ederer & Miriam Rehm, 2020. "Making sense of Piketty's 'fundamental laws' in a Post-Keynesian framework: the transitional dynamics of wealth inequality," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 8(2), pages 195-219, April.
    6. Charles I. Jones, 2015. "Pareto and Piketty: The Macroeconomics of Top Income and Wealth Inequality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 29-46, Winter.
    7. Piyabha Kongsamut & Sergio Rebelo & Danyang Xie, 2001. "Beyond Balanced Growth," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 869-882.
    8. Mr. Sergio Rebelo & Ms. Piyabha Kongsamut & Danyang Xie, 2001. "Beyond Balanced Growth," IMF Working Papers 2001/085, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Daron Acemoglu & Veronica Guerrieri, 2008. "Capital Deepening and Nonbalanced Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(3), pages 467-498, June.
    10. Francisco J. Buera & Joseph P. Kaboski, 2012. "The Rise of the Service Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2540-2569, October.
    11. Per Krusell & Anthony A. Smith Jr., 2015. "Is Piketty's "Second Law of Capitalism" Fundamental?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(4), pages 725-748.
    12. Michael Potter, 2014. "Capital in the Twenty-First Century: A Critique of Thomas Piketty's Political Economy," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 21(1), pages 91-116.
    13. Reto Foellmi & Josef Zweim�ller, "undated". "Structural Change and the Kaldor Facts of Economic Growth," IEW - Working Papers 111, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    14. Baumol, William J, 1993. "Health Care, Education and the Cost Disease: A Looming Crisis for Public Choice," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 77(1), pages 17-28, September.
    15. Herrendorf, Berthold & Rogerson, Richard & Valentinyi, Ákos, 2014. "Growth and Structural Transformation," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 855-941, Elsevier.
    16. Peter Mihalyi & Iván Szelényi, 2017. "Wealth and capital: a critique of Piketty’s conceptualisation of return on capital," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 41(4), pages 1237-1247.
    17. Kane, Robert F., 2019. "Directed Structural Change," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(5), pages 1921-1958, July.
    18. Francisco J. Buera & Joseph P. Kaboski & Min Qiang Zhao, 2019. "The Rise of Services: The Role of Skills, Scale, and Female Labor Supply," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 157-187.
    19. Mattauch, Linus & Klenert, David & Stiglitz, Joseph E. & Edenhofer, Ottmar, 2022. "Overcoming wealth inequality by capital taxes that finance public investment," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 383-395.
    20. McPherson, Michael S & Schapiro, Morton Owen & Winston, Gordon C, 1989. "Recent Trends in U.S. Higher Education Costs and Prices: The Role of Government Funding," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 253-257, May.
    21. Barelli, Paulo & de Abreu Pessoa, Samuel, 2003. "Inada conditions imply that production function must be asymptotically Cobb-Douglas," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 361-363, December.
    22. David Albouy & Gabriel Ehrlich & Yingyi Liu, 2016. "Housing Demand, Cost-of-Living Inequality, and the Affordability Crisis," NBER Working Papers 22816, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Moav, Omer, 2002. "Income distribution and macroeconomics: the persistence of inequality in a convex technology framework," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 187-192, April.
    24. Richard Rogerson & Joseph Kaboski & Francisco Buera, 2015. "Skill-Biased Structural Change and the Skill Premium," 2015 Meeting Papers 895, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Alejandra Torres León, 2022. "Go green or go home? Energy transition, directed technical change and wage inequalit," Documentos CEDE 20104, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gallipoli, Giovanni & Makridis, Christos A., 2018. "Structural transformation and the rise of information technology," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 91-110.
    2. L. Rachel Ngai & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "Gender Gaps and the Rise of the Service Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 1-44, October.
    3. Ju, Jiandong & Lin, Justin Yifu & Wang, Yong, 2015. "Endowment structures, industrial dynamics, and economic growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 244-263.
    4. Li, Shang-ao & Gong, Liutang & Pan, Shan & Luo, Feng, 2020. "Wage and price differences, technology gap and labor flow dynamics," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 211-222.
    5. Liu, Yue, 2017. "The impact of income distribution on structural transformation: The role of extensive margin," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 357-364.
    6. Matthess, Marcel & Kunkel, Stefanie, 2020. "Structural change and digitalization in developing countries: Conceptually linking the two transformations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    7. Edgar Cruz & Xavier Raurich, 2020. "Leisure time and the sectoral composition of employment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 38, pages 198-219, October.
    8. Margarida Duarte & Diego Restuccia, 2020. "Relative Prices and Sectoral Productivity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1400-1443.
    9. Zsófia L. Bárány & Christian Siegel, 2018. "Job Polarization and Structural Change," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 57-89, January.
    10. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Long, Ngo Van & Poschke, Markus, 2018. "Capital-labor substitution, structural change and the labor income share," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 206-231.
    11. Edgar Cruz, 2019. "Kuznets meets Lucas: structural change and human capital," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 848-873.
    12. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/30j1vvprab87kpl0hore4b2sv1 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Lee, Jong-Wha & McKibbin, Warwick J., 2018. "Service sector productivity and economic growth in Asia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 247-263.
    14. Cynthia Armas & Fernando Sánchez-Losada, 2021. "Structural change and the income of nations," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2021/412, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    15. Daron Acemoglu & Veronica Guerrieri, 2008. "Capital Deepening and Nonbalanced Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(3), pages 467-498, June.
    16. Herrendorf, Berthold & Valentinyi, Ákos, 2022. "Endogenous sector–biased technological change and industrial policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4he5e8ba3929rhrgcti3so9af is not listed on IDEAS
    18. James Bessen, 2018. "Artificial Intelligence and Jobs: The Role of Demand," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, pages 291-307, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Murat Ungor, 2017. "Productivity Growth and Labor Reallocation: Latin America versus East Asia," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 24, pages 25-42, March.
    20. Zsofia Barany & Christian Siegel, 2015. "Job Polarization and Structural Change," Working Papers hal-03459762, HAL.
    21. Diego Comin & Danial Lashkari & Martí Mestieri, 2021. "Structural Change With Long‐Run Income and Price Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(1), pages 311-374, January.
    22. Comunale, Mariarosaria & Felice, Giulia, 2022. "Trade and structural change: An empirical investigation," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 58-79.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; growth; bequests; factor shares; Piketty.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:col:000089:017674. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Universidad De Los Andes-Cede (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ceandco.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.