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Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Author Mark Setterfield

1. Household Borrowing and the Possibility of “Consumption- Driven, Profit-Led Growth”

Author:
Mark Setterfield and Yun K. Kim
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
We first show that, with a Kaleckian structure that is consistent with Pasinetti (1962), the relationship between distribution and growth is more robust than conventional wisdom suggests. Next, we extend our model by incorporating borrowing and emulation effects into workers’ consumption behavior, under different assumptions about how debt is serviced. Our results demonstrate that borrowing and emulation transform the relationship between distribution and growth, giving rise to the possibility of a “consumption-driven, profit-led” growth regime (Kapeller and Schütz, 2015) and what we call the “paradox of inequality.” A key conclusion is that the wage-or -profit led characteristics of the growth process, rather than being invariant, can be altered by social constructs such as borrowing and consumption norms that change over time.
Topic:
Economics, Economic Growth, Economic Theory, Profit, Homeownership, and Consumerism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Debt Servicing, Aggregate Consumption, and Growth

Author:
Mark Setterfield and Yun K. Kim
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
We develop a neo-Kaleckian growth model that emphasizes the importance of consumption behavior. In our model, workers first make consumption decisions based on their gross income, and then treat debt servicing commitments as a substitute for saving. Workers’ borrowing is induced by their desire to keep up with the consumption standard set by rentiers’ consumption, reflecting an aspect of the relative income hypothesis. As a result of this consumption and debt servicing behavior, consumer debt accumulation and income distribution have effects on aggregate demand, profitability, and economic growth that differ from those found in existing models. We also investigate the financial sustainability of the Golden Age and Neoliberal growth regimes within our framework. It is shown that distributional changes between the Golden Age and the Neoliberal regimes, together with corresponding changes in consumption emulation behavior via expenditure cascades, suffice to make the Neoliberal growth regime unsustainable.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Economic Growth, Economic Theory, Profit, Sustainability, Models, and Consumption
Political Geography:
Global Focus