We find that survey evidence on faculty pay-cycle choice strongly contradicts the neoclassical theory of consumer behavior. It is more favorable to the behavioral life-cycle theory of Shefrin and Thaler (1988).

This paper is an introduction to agent-based simulation using the Python programming language. The core objective of the paper is to enable students, teachers, and researchers immediately to begin social-science simulation projects in a general purpose programming language. This objective is...

This paper highlights the crucial role of demographic assumptions in models of the intergenerational transmission of wealth inequality. Specifically, we show that Alan Blinder's surprising predictions that bequest and mating practices can sustain but cannot cause wealth inequality are extremely...

Economics is a matter of choice and growth, of interaction and exchange among individuals. Because property rights define the rules of these interactions and the objects of exchange, it is vital to fully understand the institutions and implications of the various property-rights regimes. With...

This paper offers an accessible introductory survey of the application of abstract choice theory to consumer theory. In the process, the paper identifires---somewhat more carefully than is usual in the literature--- the relatively small role of the rationality postulates and the relatively large...

We model policy interactions in a growing economy. Unemployment can persist and matters for the real wage; conflicting claims underpin inflation outcomes; and aggregate demand determines capacity utilization and unemployment. Monetary policy is characterized by a Taylor rule. Fiscal policy is...

This paper presents simulation results for the distribution of wealth. The object is to illustrate the importance of institutions for understanding intergenerational wealth dynamics and the asymptotic tendency of wealth inequality. The focal institutions are the family and the state. Familial...

Previous emperical analyses of job mobility focus on worker rather than firm characteristics. This paper exploits a unique data set on enterprise employment. We describe sectoral difference in turnover rates and in the persistence of turnover. We also present evidence of persistent turnover...