Intertemporal consumption
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Economic theories of intertemporal consumption seek to explain people's
In the 1950s, more well-defined models were built on
The life-cycle model of consumption suggests that consumption is based on average lifetime income instead of income at any given age. First, young people borrow to consume more than their income, next, as their income rises through the years, their consumption rises slowly and they begin to save more. Lastly, during their retirement these individuals live off of their savings. Furthermore this theory implies that consumption is smoothed out relative to a person's income which is the reason economists set consumption proportional to potential income rather than actual income.
Attempts to test the life-cycle model against real world data have met with mixed success. In a review of the literature, Courant, Gramlich and Laitner (1984) note "but for all its elegance and rationality, the life-cycle model has not tested out very well". The main discrepancies between predicted and actual behaviour is that people drastically 'underconsume' early and late in their lifetime by failing to borrow against future earnings and not saving enough to adequately finance retirement incomes respectively. People also seem to 'overconsume' during their highest earning years, the elderly do not consume from their assets as would be expected (particularly from their household equity) and also treat windfall gains in a manner inconsistent with the life-cycle model. Specific alterations to the theory have been proposed to help it accommodate the data; a
See also
- Albert Ando
- Dissaving
- Intertemporal choice
- Permanent income hypothesis
- Temporal discounting
- Wealth elasticity of demand
References
- Fisher, I (1930): The Theory of Interest
- Harrod, R. (1948): Towards a Dynamic Economics
- Friedman, M. (1957): A Theory of the Consumption Function
- Modigliani, F. & Brumberg, R. (1954): 'Utility analysis and the consumption function: An interpretation of cross-section data'. In: Kurihara, K.K (ed.): Post-Keynesian Economics
- Shefrin, H. & Thaler, R. (1992): 'Mental Accounting, Saving and Self-Control'. In: Lowenstein, G. & Elster, J. (eds.) Choice over Time