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The Ramsey steady-state conundrum in heterogeneous-agent economies

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  • Chien, YiLi
  • Wen, Yi

Abstract

This paper makes two fundamental contributions: (i) We prove that the interior Ramsey steady state commonly assumed in the literature may not exist in a standard Aiyagari model—in particular, a steady state with the modified golden rule and a positive capital tax is shown to be feasible but not optimal under conventional parameter values for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution. (ii) We design a modified, analytically tractable version of the standard Aiyagari model to reveal the necessary and/or sufficient conditions for the existence of a Ramsey steady state. We characterize the basic properties of both interior and non-interior Ramsey steady states and show that researchers may draw fundamentally misleading conclusions about optimal fiscal policy (such as the optimal capital tax rate) from their analysis if an interior Ramsey steady state is incorrectly assumed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chien, YiLi & Wen, Yi, 2024. "The Ramsey steady-state conundrum in heterogeneous-agent economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:220:y:2024:i:c:s0022053124000796
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2024.105873
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    Keywords

    Ramsey steady state; Optimal capital tax; Optimal government debt; Intertemporal distortions; Consumption front-loading; Heterogeneous agents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General

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