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Life-Cycle Preferences Revisited

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  • Antoine Bommier

Abstract

An axiomatic construction for lifecycle preferences accounting for the finiteness and the randomness of life duration is provided. We emphasise the role of intertemporal correlation aversion and explain why multiplication preferences provide an interesting alternative to additive preferences, allowing to separate risk aversion from intertemporal elasticity of substitution. Implications regarding the shape of the optimal consumption profiles are discussed.

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  • Antoine Bommier, "undated". "Life-Cycle Preferences Revisited," Working Papers ETH-RC-12-001, ETH Zurich, Chair of Systems Design.
    • Handle: RePEc:stz:wpaper:eth-rc-12-001
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    15. Antoine Bommier, 2006. "Uncertain Lifetime And Intertemporal Choice: Risk Aversion As A Rationale For Time Discounting," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1223-1246, November.
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    17. Feigenbaum, James, 2008. "Can mortality risk explain the consumption hump?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 844-872, September.
    18. Bommier, Antoine & Chassagnon, Arnold & Le Grand, François, 2012. "Comparative risk aversion: A formal approach with applications to saving behavior," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(4), pages 1614-1641.
    19. Steffen Andersen & Glenn W. Harrison & Morten Lau & Elisabet E. Rutstroem, 2011. "Intertemporal Utility and Correlation Aversion," Department of Economics Working Papers 2011_03, Durham University, Department of Economics.
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    21. Antoine Bommier, 2007. "Risk Aversion, Intertemporal Elasticity of Substitution and Correlation Aversion," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 4(29), pages 1-8.
    22. Antoine Bommier, 2010. "Portfolio Choice under Uncertain Lifetime," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 12(1), pages 57-73, February.
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    24. repec:reg:rpubli:282 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:4:y:2007:i:29:p:1-8 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Antoine Bommier, 2008. "Rational Impatience ?," Working Papers hal-00441880, HAL.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Drouhin, Nicolas, 2020. "Non-stationary additive utility and time consistency," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-14.
    2. Drouhin, Nicolas, 2015. "A rank-dependent utility model of uncertain lifetime," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 208-224.
    3. Fabio C. Bagliano & Carolina Fugazza & Giovanna Nicodano, 2017. "A Life-Cycle Model with Unemployment Traps," Working papers 041, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    4. Bagliano, Fabio C. & Fugazza, Carolina & Nicodano, Giovanna, 2021. "Life-cycle welfare losses from rules-of-thumb asset allocation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    5. Gangadharan, Lata & Harrison, Glenn W. & Leroux, Anke D., 2019. "Are risks over multiple attributes traded off? A case study of aid," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 166-198.
    6. Antoine Bommier & Francois Le Grand, "undated". "A Robust Approach to Risk Aversion," Working Papers ETH-RC-13-002, ETH Zurich, Chair of Systems Design.
    7. Antoine Bommier & François Grand, 2014. "Too risk averse to purchase insurance?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 135-166, April.
    8. Antoine Bommier, "undated". "Mortality Decline, Impatience and Aggregate Wealth Accumulation with Risk-Sensitive Preferences," Working Papers ETH-RC-14-006, ETH Zurich, Chair of Systems Design.
    9. Bommier, Antoine & Schernberg, Hélène, 2021. "Would you prefer your retirement income to depend on your life expectancy?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    10. Bagliano, Fabio C. & Fugazza, Carolina & Nicodano, Giovanna, 2019. "Life-cycle portfolios, unemployment and human capital loss," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 325-340.
    11. Hector, Svenja, 2015. "Extending the Ramsey Equation further: Discounting under Mutually Utility Independent and Recursive Preferences," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113061, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    12. Antoine Bommier & François Le Grand, 2019. "Risk Aversion and Precautionary Savings in Dynamic Settings," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(3), pages 1386-1397, March.
    13. Fillon, Romain & Guivarch, Céline & Taconet, Nicolas, 2023. "Optimal climate policy under tipping risk and temporal risk aversion," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    14. Nicolas Drouhin, 2016. "Non stationary additive utility and time consistency," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01238584, HAL.
    15. Glenn W. Harrison, 2019. "The behavioral welfare economics of insurance," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 44(2), pages 137-175, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intertemporal choice; Life-cycle models; Multivariate risk aversion; Uncertain lifetime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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