Satiation, Escaping Satiation, andStructural Change: Some Evidencefrom the Evolution of Engel Curves

Certain properties of Engel curves have been linked to the occurrence of structural changein the economy (Pasinetti 1981, Metcalfe et al. 2006, Saviotti 2001). From an empiricalperspective, however, very little has been done to examine (i) whether indeed satiation isa general property of Engel curves; (ii) whether the rate at which Engel curves convergeto satiation may signi¯cantly change over time; and (iii) how stable Engel curves areacross time such that it may be appropriate to use them to make predictions aboutstructural change.[...]