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Includes bibliographical references. / This paper investigates the determinants of household wealth in South Africa, using the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Wave 2. In particular, we look at the effect s of the wealth-age profile and other household demographic variables. The hump-shaped profile of the wealth and age relationship suggested by the life-cycle hypothesis is not present in the data, although there are indications of its presence in the upper quantiles of the wealth distribution. The South African wealth distribution does not conform to the Lifecycle Hypothesis at this point in time. The LCH model appears to apply only to particular quantiles of the population, that is, the wealthier households and the particularly indebted households. In particular, the results found these to be households with younger heads, which align with LCH predictions. Poorer households, or those whose assets and liabilities are approximately equal do not appear to accumulate wealth in the same manner as their upper and lower quantile counterparts. However, we cannot formally identify the LCH econometrically at a particular quantile. We found evidence of different wealth accumulation behaviour in Tribal Authority Areas, where a dual land tenure ownership structure is in place. This has important implications for researchers interested in components of wealth, such as income, saving, assets and liabilities.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / One of the lessons from the recent global financial crisis is the importance of macro-financial linkage in the economy. Based on this background, this dissertation analyzes the effects of financial frictions on the aggregate activities of the economy, wealth distribution and business cycles. The first chapter investigates the effects of financial development on aggregate capital accumulation and wealth distribution by constructing a heterogeneous-agent general equilibrium model with two idiosyncratic risks, endogenous occupational choice and Holmstrom and Tirole (1999) type financial contracts to prevent moral hazard issue. The benchmark model is calibrated to match the empirical data, where the wealth distribution has a right-hand fat tail and a small number of entrepreneurs hold a large amount of wealth. We find that financial development measured by decrease of monitoring cost contributes to the economy's higher capital accumulation and lower wealth Gini coefficient. The second chapter develops a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with financial frictions arising from the moral hazard problem as in Holmstrom and Tirole (1997) together with regulatory capital requirements on the banks. In contrast with the standard BGG (1999) financial accelerator model, we consider the agency problem from hidden action and regulatory capital requirements on the banks in order to examine whether changes of regulatory capital requirements result in credit crunches in the transmissions of aggregate technology and monetary policy shocks. The third chapter explores quantitative experiments using the above DSGE model. We examine whether there exists a "financial accelerator" effect from these kinds of financial frictions and a "credit crunch" from shocks. We find that there exists a "financial accelerator" effect and that financial deepening measured by decrease of financial intermediary's monitoring costs could contribute to mitigating business cycle fluctuations. In particular, no financial frictions with zero monitoring cost could decrease the variance of aggregate investment to around 18.5%. We also find that imposing and increasing capital requirements on the banks could cause decrease of bank's lending ("credit crunch"), thereby amplifying business cycles. / 2031-01-02

Statistical mechanics pursues low-dimensional descriptions of systems with a very large number of degrees of freedom. I explore this theme in two contexts. The main body of this dissertation explores and extends the Yard Sale Model (YSM) of economic transactions using a combination of simulations and theory. The YSM is a simple interacting model for wealth distributions which has the potential to explain the empirical observation of Pareto distributions of wealth. I develop the link between wealth condensation and the breakdown of ergodicity due to nonlinear diffusion effects which are analogous to the geometric random walk. Using this, I develop a deterministic effective theory of wealth transfer in the YSM that is useful for explaining many quantitative results. I introduce various forms of growth to the model, paying attention to the effect of growth on wealth condensation, inequality, and ergodicity. Arithmetic growth is found to partially break condensation, and geometric growth is found to completely break condensation. Further generalizations of geometric growth with growth in- equality show that the system is divided into two phases by a tipping point in the inequality parameter. The tipping point marks the line between systems which are ergodic and systems which exhibit wealth condensation. I explore generalizations of the YSM transaction scheme to arbitrary betting functions to develop notions of universality in YSM-like models. I find that wealth condensation is universal to a large class of models which can be divided into two phases. The first exhibits slow, power-law condensation dynamics, and the second exhibits fast, finite-time condensation dynamics. I find that the YSM, which exhibits exponential dynamics, is the critical, self-similar model which marks the dividing line between the two phases. The final chapter develops a low-dimensional approach to materials microstructure quantification. Modern materials design harnesses complex microstructure effects to develop high-performance materials, but general microstructure quantification is an unsolved problem. Motivated by statistical physics, I envision microstructure as a low-dimensional manifold, and construct this manifold by leveraging multiple machine learning approaches including transfer learning, dimensionality reduction, and computer vision breakthroughs with convolutional neural networks.

The distribution of economic wellbeing is generally regarded as one of the key performance indicators of a society and economic wellbeing is strongly influenced by income, wealth and consumption. Despite this, almost all studies of inequality in Australia have relied upon income as the sole measure of economic wellbeing, due in large part to the ready availability of income data. This thesis attempts to redress that deficiency. This thesis provides an insight into an under-researched but vitally important topic � the distribution of wealth. Specifically the research has three goals. The first is to provide estimates of the level and distribution of wealth in Australia at the current time and the trends over the past decade or two. The second aim is to provide projections of the future wealth distribution. The final goal is to see if there are significant differences between the distribution of lifetime wealth and the annual cross-sectional distribution of wealth. The research uses a technique not previously used in Australia to estimate wealth in the future � dynamic microsimulation. The microsimulation model used is based on a starting sample of 150,000 individuals and this large number allows a large range of experiences to be modelled, while not having the high costs, years of commitment and other problems associated with undertaking panel studies. This thesis estimates that the average levels of wealth will increase significantly over the 40-year period from 2000 to 2040 but that wealth inequality will increase over the same period. The reasons for the increases in wealth inequality appear to be due to changes in asset ownership, particularly lower levels of home ownership; the ageing population; and increases in inequality within age cohorts. The research found that lifetime wealth inequality for a sub-group of Generation X differed from the distribution based on annual data. The lifetime wealth inequality was significantly less than the annual wealth inequality.

This paper empirically compares the contribution of the two major wealth accumulation factors - earned income and inheritances - to the net wealth position of households in the Eurozone. The elasticities of both wealth sources differ considerably across countries and are overly non-linear. Depending on the position in the wealth distribution, an increase of one percentile in the income distribution corresponds to 0.1-0.6 percentiles in the net wealth distribution. We find substantially stronger effects for inheritances vis-á-vis income. In Greece, Portugal, and Austria, households have to climb around three percentiles in the income distribution to compensate a one percentile increase in the inheritance distribution. The findings clearly suggest that bequests play a stronger role in wealth accumulation than earned income. / Series: INEQ Working Paper Series

The paper investigates how including the distribution of wealth changes the demand effects of redistributing functional income. It develops a model with an endogenous wealth distribution and shows that the endogenous rise in wealth inequality resulting from a redistribution towards profits weakens the growth effects of this redistribution. Consequently, a wage-led regime becomes more strongly wage-led. A profit-led regime on the other hand becomes less profit-led and there may even be a regime switch - in this case the short-run profit-led economy becomes wage-led in the long run due to the endogenous effects of wealth inequality. The paper thereby provides a possible explanation for the instability of demand regimes over time. / Series: Ecological Economic Papers

No contexto em que a distribuição de riqueza fica cada vez mais concentrada nas mãos dos mais ricos (Piketty (2014)), torna-se essencial incluir a riqueza e a sua distribuição no estudo dos determinantes da atividade econômica. Assim, dentro de um arcabouço Kaleckiano com modelagem stock-flow-consistent, essa dissertação busca entender como o grau de utilização de capacidade das firmas se relaciona com a distribuição de renda e riqueza. Trabalhos na tradição pós-Keynesiana já haviam buscado entender essas relações, primeiro em Kaldor (1955) e Pasinetti (1962), na literatura neo-Keynesiana, e posteriormente em Dutt (1990) e Palley (2012), na literatura Kaleckiana. A principal inovação desta dissertação é incluir a acumulação de riqueza por trabalhadores e capitalistas, eliminando, porém, a possibilidade de trabalhadores acumularem estoque de capital físico. O modelo desenvolvido possui três classes, duas de trabalhadores que dividem a massa de salários, e uma de capitalistas, que recebe os lucros. Uma das classes de trabalhadores é mais qualificada, recebe um salário mais elevado e tem propensão a consumir sobre a renda disponível menor que a unidade. Assim como os capitalistas, que também têm propensão a poupar positiva sobre a renda disponível, a classe dos trabalhadores mais qualificados acumula riqueza na forma de títulos públicos, que rendem juros, e moeda. Além disso, ambas as classes têm propensão a consumir positiva sobre o estoque de riqueza financeira. No modelo, a riqueza impacta a demanda agregada por quatro canais: i) consumo sobre a riqueza; ii) gasto do governo sobre a riqueza tributada; consumo sobre a renda financeira; gasto do governo sobre a renda financeira tributada. No curto prazo valem o paradoxo dos custos e o paradoxo da poupança, e uma maior proporção da riqueza dos trabalhadores mais qualificados na distribuição de riqueza financeira eleva a utilização de capacidade. No longo prazo, os resultados sugerem que uma maior parcela dos trabalhadores na distribuição de riqueza está associada, na maioria dos casos, com uma menor utilização de capacidade. Além disso, o paradoxo dos custos e o paradoxo da poupança também deixam de valer, a despeito do modelo ser liderado pela demanda. / In a context in which wealth is increasly more concentrated Piketty (2014), it becomes essential to include this variable and its distribution to study the economic activity. Thus, in a Kaleckian approach with Stock Flow Consistent modelling, this thesis aims to investigate how the rate of utilization of capacity of firms related with income and wealth distributions. Papers aligned with post-Keynesian tradition has already shown attempts to understand these relations, first by Kaldor (1955) and Pasinetti (1962), in neo-Keynesian approach, nd more recently by Dutt (1990) and Palley (2012), in Kaleckian literature. The main in innovation of this thesis is to propose the inclusion the accumulation on financial wealth by workers and capitalists, while workers are nor allowed to accumulate capital stock. The proposed model has three classes, two of workers who share the total wages, and the capitalists, who earn profits. One of workers is high skilled and earns a higher wage. The high skilled workers have a propensity to consume out of disposable income smaller than one. Just like capitalists, who also have a positive propensity to save out of disposable income, high skileed workers accumulate wealth as public bonds, which provide financial income as interest, and as money. Besides that, both classes have a positive propensity to consume out of financial wealth. Wealth can impact aggregate demand on four ways: i) consumption out of wealth; ii) government expenditure out of wealth taxes; iii) consumption out of financial income; iv) government expenditure out of financial income taxes. In short run, the paradox of thrift and the paradox of costs hold, while a higher share of high skilled workers\' wealth has a positive impact on capacity utilization. In long run, the results suggest that a higher share of high skilled workers wealth has a negative correlation with capacity utilization. Besides that, the paradox of thrift and the paradox of costs do not hold, despite the model is demand-led.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a relação entre desenvolvimento financeiro e crescimento, bem como desenvolvimento financeiro e desigualdade, numa análise regional, para estados brasileiros. Utilizando a metodologia empregada na literatura empírica internacional, as conclusões obtidas são de que: a) o acesso ao crédito é uma das variáveis importantes para a explicação do crescimento estadual e da desigualdade na distribuição de renda; b) o tamanho do crédito em si aparece como relevante para a explicação do crescimento, mas, quando controlados os efeitos das características próprias de cada estado, esta relação deixa de ser significante; e c) o tamanho do crédito está negativamente relacionado à desigualdade de renda, isto é, mais crédito corresponde a pior distribuição. Este último resultado é contra-intuitivo e são sugeridas duas explicações para isso. A primeira razão possível é de que o crédito possa estar sendo capturado pelas camadas de maior renda / empresas de maior porte, não chegando às classes de menor renda / micro e pequenas empresas, o que acentuaria o quadro de má distribuição de renda. O acesso ao crédito, ao contrário, melhora a distribuição de renda. Além disso, é possível que, como uma parte importante do crédito é direcionada pelo governo, este pode estar deliberadamente enviando mais recursos aos estados inicialmente mais desiguais, o que explicaria o resultado de que mais crédito está associado a mais desigualdade. / This paper?s goal is to investigate the relationship between financial development and growth and between financial development and wealth distribution, using a regional approach, through Brazilian states. Using the methodological approach common to the international empiric literature, the conclusions are: a) access to credit is one of the relevant variables when explaining the states growth and the uneven wealth distribution; b) size of credit itself appears to be relevant when explaining growth, however, when discounting the states fixed effects, the relationship ceases to be significant; and c) credit size is negatively related to the wealth distribution, meaning that more credit is linked to a more uneven wealth distribution. This last result is not expected and there are two suggested reasons for it. The first one is that the credit is being captured by the richer lays of population / bigger firms, and it is not being able to reach the poorest lays / smaller firms, thus enhancing the unequal distribution. Credit access, on the other hand, improves the wealth distribution. Besides, it is possible that since a great credit share is directed by the government, it could be intentionally sending more resources to the more uneven states, explaining how more credit could be associated with more inequality.

As origens da pujança econômica e da diversidade social e cultural de São Paulo são temas estudados por historiadores e economistas. Nesta tese, propõe-se um estudo da riqueza de Campinas durante a economia cafeeira, de 1870 a 1940, recorte temporal este que inicia com o auge da cafeicultura, chegando até aos primeiros desenvolvimentos de uma economia industrial e urbana. A excepcional expansão das exportações de café e a imigração de europeus, de meados do século XIX em diante, estimularam a diversidade dos mercados de trabalho e de consumo locais e tornou possível aos indivíduos comuns ascenderem socialmente em uma hierarquia dominada pela elite cafeeira. A principal fonte documental utilizada foi uma série de inventários post mortem, dos quais sistematizamos as informações pessoais dos inventariados e as propriedades declaradas e orçadas nas suas partilhas. Analisou-se, primeiramente, as origens nacionais e as ocupações econômicas dos inventariados. Na sequência, considerou-se o conjunto das riquezas líquidas dos processos e a composição das propriedades de cada indivíduo. Os dados demonstram ter havido uma extrema desigualdade na distribuição da riqueza em Campinas. Todavia, também encontramos casos de mobilidade ascendente, especialmente entre os imigrantes italianos, que foram maioria no conjunto das colônias estrangeiras do período. / The origins of São Paulos economic vigour and social diversity are topics broadly studied by historians and economists. In this thesis, we investigate the wealth accumulation in Campinas during the coffee economy from 1870 to 1940 a period that begins with the zenith of the coffee production, stretching itself to the first glimpses of a more industrial economy. The leading source used is a sample of post-mortem inventories, from which we codified the inventoried personal data and their declared and budgeted properties listed in their apportionments. The national origins and the economic occupations of the inventoried were primarily analysed. Further, the amount of net wealth of the processes and the composition of the properties of each individual were considered. The data suggest there had been an extreme inequality in the distribution of such wealth. Nevertheless, we found several cases of ascending mobility, especially amongst the Italian immigrants, who represented the majority among the immigrant families in the period.