IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/80045.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Rational Inattention and the Dynamics of Consumption and Wealth in General Equilibrium

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Yulei
  • Nie, Jun
  • Wang, Gaowang
  • Young, Eric

Abstract

We use a recursive utility version of a basic Huggett (1993) model to study the cross-sectional dispersion of consumption and wealth (relative to income). The basic model implies too little dispersion compared to the data, whereas a one-parameter extension to include rational inattention (limited information processing) delivers a better fit to both facts in general equilibrium. In particular, intertemporal substitution plays an important role in determining the two key dispersion moments via affecting the degree of optimal attention in equilibrium. Alternative models that rely on habit formation, incomplete information about current income, or borrowing constraints are not consistent with the facts we document.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun & Wang, Gaowang & Young, Eric, 2017. "Rational Inattention and the Dynamics of Consumption and Wealth in General Equilibrium," MPRA Paper 80045, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:80045
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/80045/1/MPRA_paper_80045.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/80997/1/MPRA_paper_80045.pdf
    File Function: revised version
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/80998/1/MPRA_paper_80045.pdf
    File Function: revised version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Crump, Richard K. & Eusepi, Stefano & Tambalotti, Andrea & Topa, Giorgio, 2022. "Subjective intertemporal substitution," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 118-133.
    2. Li, Wei & Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun, 2017. "Elastic attention, risk sharing, and international comovements," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-20.
    3. Bartosz Mackowiak & Mirko Wiederholt, 2009. "Optimal Sticky Prices under Rational Inattention," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 769-803, June.
    4. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Eric R. Young, 2015. "Slow Information Diffusion And The Inertial Behavior Of Durable Consumption," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(5), pages 805-840, October.
    5. Orazio P. Attanasio & Nicola Pavoni, 2011. "Risk Sharing in Private Information Models With Asset Accumulation: Explaining the Excess Smoothness of Consumption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(4), pages 1027-1068, July.
    6. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Laura Veldkamp, 2009. "Information Immobility and the Home Bias Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(3), pages 1187-1215, June.
    7. Toda, Alexis Akira, 2017. "Huggett economies with multiple stationary equilibria," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 77-90.
    8. Angeletos, George-Marios & Calvet, Laurent-Emmanuel, 2006. "Idiosyncratic production risk, growth and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 1095-1115, September.
    9. S. Rao Aiyagari, 1994. "Uninsured Idiosyncratic Risk and Aggregate Saving," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 659-684.
    10. Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1995. "Individual Income, Incomplete Information, and Aggregate Consumption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 805-840, July.
    11. Sun, Yeneng, 2006. "The exact law of large numbers via Fubini extension and characterization of insurable risks," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 31-69, January.
    12. Richard Blundell & Luigi Pistaferri & Ian Preston, 2008. "Consumption Inequality and Partial Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1887-1921, December.
    13. Martin Floden & Jesper Lindé, 2001. "Idiosyncratic Risk in the United States and Sweden: Is There a Role for Government Insurance?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(2), pages 406-437, July.
    14. Bartosz Maćkowiak & Mirko Wiederholt, 2015. "Business Cycle Dynamics under Rational Inattention," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1502-1532.
    15. Pascal J. Maenhout, 2004. "Robust Portfolio Rules and Asset Pricing," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 951-983.
    16. Larry G. Epstein & Stanley E. Zin, 2013. "Substitution, risk aversion and the temporal behavior of consumption and asset returns: A theoretical framework," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 12, pages 207-239, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Guvenen, Fatih, 2006. "Reconciling conflicting evidence on the elasticity of intertemporal substitution: A macroeconomic perspective," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(7), pages 1451-1472, October.
    18. Aylin Seckin, 2000. "Habit Formation with Recursive Preferences," CIRANO Working Papers 2000s-43, CIRANO.
    19. Olivier Coibion & Yuriy Gorodnichenko, 2015. "Information Rigidity and the Expectations Formation Process: A Simple Framework and New Facts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(8), pages 2644-2678, August.
    20. Sydney C. Ludvigson & Alexander Michaelides, 2001. "Does Buffer-Stock Saving Explain the Smoothness and Excess Sensitivity of Consumption?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(3), pages 631-647, June.
    21. Yulei Luo & Eric R. Young, 2016. "Long‐Run Consumption Risk and Asset Allocation under Recursive Utility and Rational Inattention," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(2-3), pages 325-362, March.
    22. Caballero, Ricardo J., 1990. "Consumption puzzles and precautionary savings," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 113-136, January.
    23. Wang, Neng, 2004. "Precautionary saving and partially observed income," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(8), pages 1645-1681, November.
    24. Andrade, Philippe & Le Bihan, Hervé, 2013. "Inattentive professional forecasters," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(8), pages 967-982.
    25. Thomas Laubach & John C. Williams, 2015. "Measuring the natural rate of interest redux," Working Paper Series 2015-16, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    26. Athreya, Kartik & Tam, Xuan S. & Young, Eric R., 2009. "Unsecured credit markets are not insurance markets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 83-103, January.
    27. Milton Friedman, 1957. "Introduction to "A Theory of the Consumption Function"," NBER Chapters, in: A Theory of the Consumption Function, pages 1-6, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Yulei Luo, 2008. "Consumption Dynamics under Information Processing Constraints," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(2), pages 366-385, April.
    29. Filip Matêjka & Alisdair McKay, 2015. "Rational Inattention to Discrete Choices: A New Foundation for the Multinomial Logit Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(1), pages 272-298, January.
    30. Alessie, Rob & Lusardi, Annamaria, 1997. "Consumption, saving and habit formation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 103-108, August.
    31. Yulei Luo, 2008. "Consumption Dynamics under Information Processing Constraints," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(2), pages 366-385, April.
    32. Hall, Robert E, 1978. "Stochastic Implications of the Life Cycle-Permanent Income Hypothesis: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(6), pages 971-987, December.
    33. Hong, Harrison & Torous, Walter & Valkanov, Rossen, 2007. "Do industries lead stock markets?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 367-396, February.
    34. Hryshko, Dmytro, 2014. "Correlated income shocks and excess smoothness of consumption," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 41-62.
    35. Aylin Seckin, 2000. "Consumption-Leisure Choice with Habit Formation," CIRANO Working Papers 2000s-40, CIRANO.
    36. Katz, Lawrence F. & Autor, David H., 1999. "Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1463-1555, Elsevier.
    37. Aylin Seckin, 2000. "Habit Formation: A Kind of Prudence?," CIRANO Working Papers 2000s-42, CIRANO.
    38. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Laura Veldkamp, 2010. "Information Acquisition and Under-Diversification," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(2), pages 779-805.
    39. Mondria, Jordi, 2010. "Portfolio choice, attention allocation, and price comovement," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(5), pages 1837-1864, September.
    40. Hall, Robert E, 1988. "Intertemporal Substitution in Consumption," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(2), pages 339-357, April.
    41. Laura L. Veldkamp, 2011. "Information Choice in Macroeconomics and Finance," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9621.
    42. Jun Liu, 2005. "An Equilibrium Model of Rare-Event Premia and Its Implication for Option Smirks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 131-164.
    43. Dirk Krueger & Fabrizio Perri, 2006. "Does Income Inequality Lead to Consumption Inequality? Evidence and Theory -super-1," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(1), pages 163-193.
    44. Aylin Seckin, 2000. "Consumption with Habit Formation," CIRANO Working Papers 2000s-39, CIRANO.
    45. Milton Friedman, 1957. "A Theory of the Consumption Function," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number frie57-1.
    46. Sims, Christopher A., 2003. "Implications of rational inattention," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 665-690, April.
    47. Sims, Christopher A., 2010. "Rational Inattention and Monetary Economics," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 4, pages 155-181, Elsevier.
    48. Annette Vissing-Jørgensen & Orazio P. Attanasio, 2003. "Stock-Market Participation, Intertemporal Substitution, and Risk-Aversion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 383-391, May.
    49. Yulei Luo, 2010. "Rational Inattention, Long-run Consumption Risk, and Portfolio Choice," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(4), pages 843-860, October.
    50. Campbell, John Y., 2003. "Consumption-based asset pricing," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 13, pages 803-887, Elsevier.
    51. Huggett, Mark, 1993. "The risk-free rate in heterogeneous-agent incomplete-insurance economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 17(5-6), pages 953-969.
    52. Cheremukhin, Anton & Popova, Anna & Tutino, Antonella, 2015. "A theory of discrete choice with information costs," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 34-50.
    53. Constantinides, George M, 1990. "Habit Formation: A Resolution of the Equity Premium Puzzle," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(3), pages 519-543, June.
    54. Neng Wang, 2003. "Caballero Meets Bewley: The Permanent-Income Hypothesis in General Equilibrium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 927-936, June.
    55. Yulei Luo & Eric R. Young, 2010. "Risk-Sensitive Consumption and Savings under Rational Inattention," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 281-325, October.
    56. Fatih Guvenen & Anthony A. Smith, 2014. "Inferring Labor Income Risk and Partial Insurance From Economic Choices," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82, pages 2085-2129, November.
    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. George-Marios Angeletos & Chen Lian, 2018. "Forward Guidance without Common Knowledge," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(9), pages 2477-2512, September.
    2. Christopher D. Carroll & Edmund Crawley & Jiri Slacalek & Kiichi Tokuoka & Matthew N. White, 2020. "Sticky Expectations and Consumption Dynamics," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 40-76, July.
    3. Bartosz Maćkowiak & Filip Matějka & Mirko Wiederholt, 2023. "Rational Inattention: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 226-273, March.
    4. Zhang, Yuhua & Niu, Yingjie & Wu, Ting, 2020. "Stochastic interest rates under rational inattention," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Ellison, Martin & Macaulay, Alistair, 2021. "A rational inattention unemployment trap," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    6. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Penghui Yin, 2022. "Attention Allocation and Heterogenous Consumption Responses," Research Working Paper RWP 22-07, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    7. Penghui Yin, 2018. "Optimal Amount of Attention to Capital Income Risk and Heterogeneous Precautionary Saving Behavior," CESifo Working Paper Series 7413, CESifo.
    8. Duffy, John & Li, Yue, 2019. "Lifecycle consumption under different income profiles: Evidence and theory," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 74-94.
    9. Jorge Miranda-Pino & Daniel Murphy & Kieran Walsh & Eric Young, 2020. "A Model of Expenditure Shocks," Working Papers 20-04, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    10. Roc Armenter & Michèle Müller-Itten & Zachary Stangebye, 2020. "Rational Inattention via Ignorance Equivalence," Working Papers 20-24, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    11. J r my Boccanfuso, 2022. "Consumption Response Heterogeneity and Dynamics with an Inattention Region," Working Papers wp1172, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    12. Roc Armenter & Michèle Müller-Itten & Zachary Strangebye, 2021. "Geometric Methods for Finite Rational Inattention," Working Papers 21-30, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    13. Mu, Congming & Yang, Jinqiang & Zhang, Yuhua, 2020. "Investment timing with information-processing constraints," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    14. Wenting Song & Samuel Stern, 2022. "Firm Inattention and the Efficacy of Monetary Policy: A Text-Based Approach," Staff Working Papers 22-3, Bank of Canada.
    15. Yin, Penghui, 2021. "Optimal attention and heterogeneous precautionary saving behavior," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    16. Niu, Yingjie & Wu, Yaoyao & Zhao, Siqi & Zou, Zhentao, 2024. "Consumption dynamics with law of small numbers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 915-923.
    17. Zhang, Yuhua & Mu, Congming, 2021. "Optimal ownership of entrepreneurial firms with rational inattention," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    18. Toda, Alexis Akira, 2017. "Huggett economies with multiple stationary equilibria," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 77-90.
    19. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Eric R Young, 2020. "Ambiguity, Low Risk-Free Rates and Consumption Inequality," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(632), pages 2649-2679.

    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. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Gaowang Wang & Eric Young, 2014. "What we don’t know doesn’t hurt us: rational inattention and the permanent income hypothesis in general equilibrium," Research Working Paper RWP 14-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    2. Luo, Yulei & Young, Eric R., 2016. "Induced uncertainty, market price of risk, and the dynamics of consumption and wealth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1-41.
    3. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Eric Young, 2015. "Robust permanent income in general equilibrium," Research Working Paper RWP 15-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    4. Bartosz Maćkowiak & Filip Matějka & Mirko Wiederholt, 2023. "Rational Inattention: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 226-273, March.
    5. Christopher D. Carroll & Edmund Crawley & Jiri Slacalek & Kiichi Tokuoka & Matthew N. White, 2020. "Sticky Expectations and Consumption Dynamics," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 40-76, July.
    6. Luo, Yulei & Young, Eric, 2013. "Rational Inattention in Macroeconomics: A Survey," MPRA Paper 54267, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Heng-fu Zou, 2021. "Wealth in the Utility Function and Consumption Inequality," Research Working Paper RWP 21-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    8. Yulei Luo, 2017. "Robustly Strategic Consumption–Portfolio Rules with Informational Frictions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(12), pages 4158-4174, December.
    9. Yulei Luo & Eric R. Young, 2016. "Long‐Run Consumption Risk and Asset Allocation under Recursive Utility and Rational Inattention," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(2-3), pages 325-362, March.
    10. Angeletos, G.-M. & Lian, C., 2016. "Incomplete Information in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1065-1240, Elsevier.
    11. Bartosz Maćkowiak & Mirko Wiederholt, 2015. "Business Cycle Dynamics under Rational Inattention," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1502-1532.
    12. Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun & Young, Eric, 2017. "Robustness, Low Risk-Free Rates, and Consumption Volatility in General Equilibrium," MPRA Paper 80046, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun & Wang, Haijun, 2022. "Ignorance, pervasive uncertainty, and household finance," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    14. Luo, Yulei, 2014. "Strategic Consumption-Portfolio Rules and Precautionary Savings with Informational Frictions," MPRA Paper 58077, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Li, Wei & Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun, 2017. "Elastic attention, risk sharing, and international comovements," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-20.
    16. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Eric R Young, 2020. "Ambiguity, Low Risk-Free Rates and Consumption Inequality," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(632), pages 2649-2679.
    17. Wang, Chong & Wang, Neng & Yang, Jinqiang, 2016. "Optimal consumption and savings with stochastic income and recursive utility," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 292-331.
    18. Dew-Becker, Ian & Nathanson, Charles G., 2019. "Directed attention and nonparametric learning," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 461-496.
    19. Yulei Luo & Eric R. Young, 2014. "Signal Extraction And Rational Inattention," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(2), pages 811-829, April.
    20. Luo, Yulei & Young, Eric, 2013. "Consumption, Market Price of Risk, and Wealth Accumulation under Induced Uncertainty," MPRA Paper 50998, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rational Inattention; General Equilibrium; Consumption and Wealth Volatility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:pra:mprapa:80045. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.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.