In order to shed light on the patterns of economic development characterized by sustained growth and persistent wealth inequality, we develop an agent-based model in which generations overlap and parents leave bequests to offspring. The model shows how neighborhood effects influence the long-run...

This paper finds that individuals in Japan do not leave very significant bequests, that parents often require a quid pro quo for bequests to their children, and that wealthier individuals leave less bequests, meaning that bequests ameliorate wealth inequalities

Using a simple two-sector life cycle economy with housing services and bequests, we show that a rising labor efficiency in the general economy relative to the construction sector can go a long way toward explaining a significant fraction of the rising trends in wealth-to-income ratios, housing...