IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bge/wpaper/136.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Aspirations, Habit Formation, and Bequest Motive

Author

Listed:
  • Jaime Alonso-Carrera
  • Jordi Caballé
  • Xavier Raurich

Abstract

We analyze how the presence of endogenous preferences affects the altruistic bequest motive from parents to children. We will show that the existence of habits raises the threshold value of the intergenerational discount factor above which altruistic bequests are positive, while aspiration formation could push this value down. Therefore, the dynamic inefficiency of the economy with no altruism is not sufficient to prevent the bequest motive from being operative under aspiration formation. We also discuss the implications of public debt when the bequest motive is inoperative and preferences exhibit habit and aspiration formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaime Alonso-Carrera & Jordi Caballé & Xavier Raurich, 2004. "Aspirations, Habit Formation, and Bequest Motive," Working Papers 136, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:136
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.barcelonagse.eu/sites/default/files/working_paper_pdfs/136.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Galor, Oded & Ryder, Harl E., 1989. "Existence, uniqueness, and stability of equilibrium in an overlapping-generations model with productive capital," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 360-375, December.
    2. Caballe, J., 1995. "Growth Effects of Fiscal Policy under Altruism and Low Elasticity of Intertemporal Substitution," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 309.95, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    3. Alonso-Carrera, Jaime & Caballe, Jordi & Raurich, Xavier, 2005. "Growth, habit formation, and catching-up with the Joneses," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 1665-1691, August.
    4. Abel, Andrew B, 1990. "Asset Prices under Habit Formation and Catching Up with the Joneses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 38-42, May.
    5. Croix, David de la & Michel, Philippe, 1999. "Optimal growth when tastes are inherited," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 519-537, February.
    6. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec..
    7. Jody Overland & Christopher D. Carroll & David N. Weil, 2000. "Saving and Growth with Habit Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 341-355, June.
    8. Jaime Alonso‐Carrera & Jordi Caballé & Xavier Raurich, 2004. "Consumption Externalities, Habit Formation and Equilibrium Efficiency," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(2), pages 231-251, June.
    9. Abel, Andrew B, 1987. "Operative Gift and Bequest Motives," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(5), pages 1037-1047, December.
    10. Philippe Weil, 1987. "Love Thy Children," Post-Print hal-03393237, HAL.
    11. Karen E. Dynan & Jonathan Skinner & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2002. "The Importance of Bequests and Life-Cycle Saving in Capital Accumulation: A New Answer," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 274-278, May.
    12. David De La Croix & Philippe Michel, 2001. "Altruism and Self-Restraint," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 63-64, pages 233-259.
    13. Carroll, Christopher D & Overland, Jody & Weil, David N, 1997. "Comparison Utility in a Growth Model," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 339-367, December.
    14. Lahiri, Amartya & Puhakka, Mikko, 1998. "Habit Persistence in Overlapping Generations Economies under Pure Exchange," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 176-186, January.
    15. Mohamed Jellal & Francois-Charles Wolff, 2002. "Altruistic Bequests with Inherited Tastes," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 1(2), pages 95-113, August.
    16. John Laitner, 1988. "Bequests, Gifts, and Social Security," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 55(2), pages 275-299.
    17. Abel, Andrew B, 1986. "Capital Accumulation and Uncertain Lifetimes with Adverse Selection," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(5), pages 1079-1097, September.
    18. Harald Uhlig & Lars Ljungqvist, 2000. "Tax Policy and Aggregate Demand Management under Catching Up with the Joneses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 356-366, June.
    19. Abel, Andrew B., 1999. "Risk premia and term premia in general equilibrium," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 3-33, February.
    20. Caballe, Jordi, 1998. "Growth Effects of Taxation under Altruism and Low Elasticity of Intertemporal Substitution," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(446), pages 92-104, January.
    21. de la Croix, David, 1996. "The dynamics of bequeathed tastes," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 89-96, October.
    22. Andrew B. Abel, 2003. "Optimal Taxation When Consumers Have Endogenous Benchmark Levels of Consumption," NBER Working Papers 10099, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. de la Croix, David & Michel, Philippe, 1997. "Altruism and self-refrain," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1998010, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 00 Apr 1998.
    24. Jhy-yuan Shieh & Ching-chong Lai & Wen-ya Chang, 2000. "Addictive behavior and endogenous growth," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 263-273, October.
    25. Caballe, Jordi, 1995. "Endogenous Growth, Human Capital, and Bequests in a Life-Cycle Model," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 47(1), pages 156-181, January.
    26. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/8711 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. repec:adr:anecst:y:2001:i:63-64:p:12 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Weil, Philippe, 1987. "Love thy children : Reflections on the Barro debt neutrality theorem," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 377-391, May.
    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. Francisco Alvarez-Cuadrado & Jose Maria Casado & Jose Maria Labeaga, 2016. "Envy and Habits: Panel Data Estimates of Interdependent Preferences," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(4), pages 443-469, August.
    2. Valente, Simone, 2011. "Habit formation and resource dependence in dynastic economies," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 131-145, May.
    3. Jordi Caballé & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2008. "The Effect of Aspirations, Habits, and Social Security on the Distribution of Wealth," ThE Papers 08/02, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    4. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori & Cristiana Mammana & Elisabetta Michetti, 2018. "A model of growth with inherited tastes," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 41(2), pages 163-186, November.
    5. Caballé, Jordi & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2021. "Do aspirations reduce differences in wealth accumulation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Emmanuelle Augeraud-Veron & Mauro Bambi, 2012. "Does habit formation always increase the agents' desire to smooth consumption?," Discussion Papers 12/12, Department of Economics, University of York.
    7. Schäfer, Andreas & Valente, Simone, 2011. "Habit Formation, Dynastic Altruism, And Population Dynamics," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 365-397, June.
    8. Luciano, Fanti & Luca, Gori & Cristiana, Mammana & Elisabetta, Michetti, 2016. "Complex dynamics in an OLG model of growth with inherited tastes," MPRA Paper 69906, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Barnett, Richard C. & Bhattacharya, Joydeep, 2008. "Rejuveniles and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 1055-1071, August.
    10. Angelini, Viola, 2009. "Consumption and habit formation when time horizon is finite," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 113-116, May.
    11. Garance Genicot & Debraj Ray, 2017. "Aspirations and Inequality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 85, pages 489-519, March.
    12. Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2009. "Crime and Remittance Transfers," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 232-247.
    13. Alonso-Carrera, Jaime & Caballé, Jordi & Raurich, Xavier, 2008. "Estate taxes, consumption externalities, and altruism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(7), pages 1751-1764, July.
    14. Jordi Caballé & Ana I. Moro-Egido, 2015. "On the Accumulation of Wealth under Aspirations," Working Papers 826, Barcelona School of Economics.
    15. Jaime Alonso‐Carrera & Stéphane Bouché, 2024. "Intergenerational Transmission of Preferences and the Operativeness of Bequest Motive," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 56(4), pages 899-932, June.
    16. Luca Gori & Mauro Sodini, 2014. "Indeterminacy and nonlinear dynamics in an OLG growth model with endogenous labour supply and inherited tastes," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 37(1), pages 159-179, April.
    17. Luciano Fanti, 2012. "Habits, aspirations and endogenous fertility," Discussion Papers 2012/142, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Allen, Jeffrey & Chakraborty, Shankha, 2022. "Inequality and the Ability to Aspire," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 264-283.
    19. Ana I. Moro Egido, 2021. "Social Comparisons; the behavioural component," ThE Papers 21/04, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    20. Marco Bertoni & Luca Corazzini, 2018. "Asymmetric affective forecasting errors and their correlation with subjective well-being," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, March.
    21. Allen, Jeffrey & Chakraborty, Shankha, 2018. "Aspirations, health and the cost of inequality," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 144-164.
    22. Kojun Hamada & Tsuyoshi Shinozaki & Mitsuyoshi Yanagihara, 2017. "Aspirations and the transfer paradox in an overlapping generations model," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 279-301, November.
    23. Bouché, Stéphane & de Miguel, Carlos, 2019. "Endogenous aspirations, growth and the rise of environmental concerns," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    24. Bouché, Stéphane & Modesto, Leonor, 2024. "Altruism, Human Capital and Environmental Preservation in a Globalized Economy," IZA Discussion Papers 16825, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Jordi Caballé & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2008. "The Effect of Aspirations, Habits, and Social Security on the Distribution of Wealth," ThE Papers 08/02, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    2. Alonso-Carrera, Jaime & Caballé, Jordi & Raurich, Xavier, 2008. "Estate taxes, consumption externalities, and altruism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(7), pages 1751-1764, July.
    3. Luca Gori & Mauro Sodini, 2014. "Indeterminacy and nonlinear dynamics in an OLG growth model with endogenous labour supply and inherited tastes," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 37(1), pages 159-179, April.
    4. Caballé, Jordi & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2021. "Do aspirations reduce differences in wealth accumulation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Alonso-Carrera, Jaime & Caballe, Jordi & Raurich, Xavier, 2005. "Growth, habit formation, and catching-up with the Joneses," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 1665-1691, August.
    6. Jaime Alonso‐Carrera & Jordi Caballé & Xavier Raurich, 2004. "Consumption Externalities, Habit Formation and Equilibrium Efficiency," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(2), pages 231-251, June.
    7. Ali Choudhary & Paul Levine, 2006. "The 24/7 Society and Multiple Habits," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0506, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    8. Liu, Chia-ying & Chang, Juin-jen, 2011. "Keeping up with the Joneses, consumer ethnocentrism, and optimal taxation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1519-1525, July.
    9. Chang, Ming-Jen & Chang, Juin-Jen & Shieh, Jhy-Yuan, 2014. "Keeping up with the Joneses and exchange rate volatility in a Redux model," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 569-584.
    10. Richard Barnett & Joydeep Bhattacharya & Helle Bunzel, 2013. "Deviant generations, Ricardian equivalence, and growth cycles," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 52(1), pages 367-396, January.
    11. Juin-Jen Chang & Yi-Ling Cheng & Shin-Kun Peng, 2017. "Social comparisons in consumption, international capital flows and tax competition," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 13(1), pages 47-71, March.
    12. Jaime Alonso-Carrera & Jordi Caball?Author-Email: jordi.caballe@uab.es & Xavier Raurich, 2001. "Income Taxation with Habit Formation and Consumption Externalities," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 496.01, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    13. Jordi Caballé & Ana I. Moro-Egido, 2015. "On the Accumulation of Wealth under Aspirations," Working Papers 826, Barcelona School of Economics.
    14. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Van Long, Ngo, 2011. "The relative income hypothesis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1489-1501, September.
    15. Jaime Alonso‐Carrera & Stéphane Bouché, 2024. "Intergenerational Transmission of Preferences and the Operativeness of Bequest Motive," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 56(4), pages 899-932, June.
    16. Cecilia García-Peñalosa & Stephen Turnovsky, 2008. "Consumption externalities: a representative consumer model when agents are heterogeneous," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 37(3), pages 439-467, December.
    17. Luciano Fanti, 2012. "Habits, aspirations and endogenous fertility," Discussion Papers 2012/142, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Chen, Jhy-hwa & Yang, Chih-yu & Shieh, Jhy-yuan & Chang, Juin-jen, 2020. "Consumption aspirations in dirty and clean goods and economic growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 254-266.
    19. Juin-jen Chang & Jhy-hwa Chen & Jhy-yuan Shieh, 2012. "Consumption externalities, market imperfections and optimal taxation," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 8(4), pages 345-359, December.
    20. Manuel Gómez, 2010. "A note on external habits and efficiency in the AK model," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 53-64, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    aspirations; Habits; bequests;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • 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

    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:bge:wpaper:136. 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: Bruno Guallar (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bargses.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.