We consider an environment in which individuals receive income shocks that are unobservable to others and can privately store resources. We provide a simple characterization of the efficient allocation in cases in which the rate of return on storage is sufficiently high or, alternatively, in...

We find that precautionary saving accounts for only a modest (less than 3 percentage point) increase in the aggregate saving rate, at least for moderate and empirically plausible parameter values. This finding is based on a quantitative analysis of a reasonably parameterized version of the...

This paper investigates why high income households in the United States save on average more than low income households in cross-section data. The three explanations considered are (1) age differences across households, (2) temporary earnings shocks, and (3) the structure of transfer payments....

Economists make extensive use of two separate descriptions of private saving behavior: the life-cycle (or overlapping generations) model, and models with intergenerational altruism. Analysis of the two frameworks is quite different, as are many of the long-run policy implications. This paper...

This paper examines entrepreneurship in order to analyze, first, the degree to which the opportunity to start or own a business affects the household's saving behavior and the implication of this behavior for the distribution of wealth and, second, the relationship between the extent of...

Although the role of financial constraints on entrepreneurial choices has received considerable attention, the effects of these constraints on aggregate capital accumulation and wealth inequality are less known. Entrepreneurship is an important determinant of capital accumulation and wealth...

Devido às previsões de envelhecimento da população brasileira para os próximos anos e a importância da cadeia produtiva do leite dentro do agronegócio brasileiro, esse trabalho buscou identificar os atributos mais valorizados pelos idosos bem como os seus hábitos de consumo do leite,...

O crescimento do mercado mundial de alimentos orgânicos nos últimos dez anos tem aumentado a demanda por estudos relacionados a esse tema. Os supermercados têm se mostrado agentes relevantes na distribuição desses produtos no Brasil e no exterior. Este trabalho tem por objetivo descrever as...