Wages and Capital returns in a generalized Pólya urn

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gottfried, Thomas, Grosskinsky, Stefan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866929657852461056
author Gottfried, Thomas
Grosskinsky, Stefan
author_facet Gottfried, Thomas
Grosskinsky, Stefan
contents It is a widely observed phenomenon that wealth is distributed significantly more unequal than wages. In this paper we study this phenomenon using a new extension of Pólyas urn, modelling wealth growth through wages and capital returns. We focus in particular on the role of increasing return rates on capital, which have been identified as a main driver of inequality, and labor share, the second main parameter of our model. We fit the parameters from real-world data in Germany, so that simulation results reproduce the empirical wealth distribution and recent dynamics in Germany quite accurately, and are essentially independent from initial conditions. Our model is simple enough to allow for a detailed mathematical analysis and provides interesting predictions for future developments and on the importance of wages and capital returns for wealth aggregation. We also provide an extensive discussion of the robustness of our results and the plausibility of the main assumptions used in our model.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_17688
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Wages and Capital returns in a generalized Pólya urn
Gottfried, Thomas
Grosskinsky, Stefan
Probability
Theoretical Economics
91B62, 60J05, 62L20, 91B52
It is a widely observed phenomenon that wealth is distributed significantly more unequal than wages. In this paper we study this phenomenon using a new extension of Pólyas urn, modelling wealth growth through wages and capital returns. We focus in particular on the role of increasing return rates on capital, which have been identified as a main driver of inequality, and labor share, the second main parameter of our model. We fit the parameters from real-world data in Germany, so that simulation results reproduce the empirical wealth distribution and recent dynamics in Germany quite accurately, and are essentially independent from initial conditions. Our model is simple enough to allow for a detailed mathematical analysis and provides interesting predictions for future developments and on the importance of wages and capital returns for wealth aggregation. We also provide an extensive discussion of the robustness of our results and the plausibility of the main assumptions used in our model.
title Wages and Capital returns in a generalized Pólya urn
topic Probability
Theoretical Economics
91B62, 60J05, 62L20, 91B52
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.17688