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Public policy, dynamic status preferences, and wealth inequality

Author

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  • Evangelos V. Dioikitopoulos
  • Stephen J. Turnovsky
  • Ronald Wendner

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of productive government spending (taxation) on aggregate savings behavior and its consequences for the dynamics of wealth inequality, taking into consideration key behavioral changes that occur during the process of economic development. Substantial empirical evidence suggests that during this process agents' preferences toward status (positional consumption) evolves according to the average wealth of the society. The sources of wealth include private capital and productive public capital, the latter financed by a distortionary income tax. This dynamic status effect impacts peoples' responses to tax policy in ways which contrast with those of the standard neoclassical model. Specifically, we find that in response to an increase in the income tax, in economies with a strong (weak) enough dynamic status effect, savings and inequality increase (decrease). Incorporating the behavioral changes to fiscal policy expands the set of mechanisms available to explain the observed variations of savings and wealth distribution dynamics that cannot be attributed to technological or other structural factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Evangelos V. Dioikitopoulos & Stephen J. Turnovsky & Ronald Wendner, 2019. "Public policy, dynamic status preferences, and wealth inequality," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 21(5), pages 923-944, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:21:y:2019:i:5:p:923-944
    DOI: 10.1111/jpet.12329
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    Cited by:

    1. Borissov, Kirill & Hashimzade, Nigar, 2022. "Fiscal policy and inequality in a model with endogenous positional concerns," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    2. Guy Meunier & Ingmar Schumacher, 2020. "The importance of considering optimal government policy when social norms matter for the private provision of public goods," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(3), pages 630-655, June.
    3. Bolh, Nathalie & Wendner, Ronald, 2021. "Conspicuous leisure, time allocation, and obesity Kuznets curves," MPRA Paper 108644, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Julio Dávila, 2021. "Property rights and long‐run capital," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(6), pages 1261-1286, December.
    5. Debajyoti Chakrabarty, 2023. "Relative deprivation, time preference, and economic growth," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(3), pages 489-525, September.
    6. Borissov, Kirill & Kalk, Andrei, 2020. "Public debt, positional concerns, and wealth inequality," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 96-111.
    7. Mathieu-Bolh, Nathalie & Wendner, Ronald, 2020. "We are what we eat: Obesity, income, and social comparisons," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Mika Akesaka & Ryo Mikami & Yoshiyasu Ono, 2024. "Insatiable Wealth Preference: Evidence from Japanese Household Survey," ISER Discussion Paper 1241rr, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, revised Oct 2024.
    9. Huey-Shian Chung, 2021. "Taiwan’s Offshore Wind Energy Policy: From Policy Dilemma to Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.

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