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Household Borrowing and the Possibility of “Consumption-Driven, Profit-Led Growth"

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Setterfield

    (Department of Economics, New School for Social Research)

  • Yun K. Kim

    (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Boston)

Abstract

We first show that, with a Kaleckian structure that is consistent with Pasinetti (1962), the relationship between distribution and growth is more robust than conventional wisdom suggests. Next, we extend our model by incorporating borrowing and emulation effects into workers' consumption behavior, under different assumptions about how debt is serviced. Our results demonstrate that borrowing and emulation transform the relationship between distribution and growth, giving rise to the possibility of a "consumption-driven, profit-led" growth regime (Kapeller and Schutz, 2015) and what we call the "paradox of inequality." A key conclusion is that the wage-or -profit led characteristics of the growth process, rather than being invariant, can be altered by social constructs such as borrowing and consumption norms that change over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Setterfield & Yun K. Kim, 2016. "Household Borrowing and the Possibility of “Consumption-Driven, Profit-Led Growth"," Working Papers 1601, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:new:wpaper:1601
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Robert A Blecker & Michael Cauvel & Y K Kim, 2022. "Systems estimation of a structural model of distribution and demand in the US economy," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 46(2), pages 391-420.
    2. Mark Setterfield, 2024. "The Kalecki-Robinson Tradition in Post-Keynesian Growth Theory," Working Papers 2402, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    3. Hein, Eckhard & Prante, Franz, 2018. "Functional distribution and wage inequality in recent Kaleckian growth models," IPE Working Papers 110/2018, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    4. Eckhard Hein, 2017. "Post-Keynesian macroeconomics since the mid 1990s: main developments," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 131-172, September.
    5. Stefan Ederer & Miriam Rehm, 2021. "Wealth inequality and aggregate demand," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 405-424, May.
    6. Mark Setterfield & Yun K Kim, 2020. "Varieties of capitalism, increasing income inequality and the sustainability of long-run growth," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 44(3), pages 559-582.
    7. Yun K. Kim & Alan G. Isaac, 2017. "Firms’ Retention Behavior, Debt, and Macroeconomic Dynamics," Working Papers 2017_04, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    8. Yun K. Kim, 2020. "Household Debt Accumulation and the Great Recession of the United States: A Comparative Perspective," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 26-49, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Borrowing; saving; emulation; debt servicing; wage-led growth; profit-led growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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