Leisure Externalities in a Two-sector Endogenous Growth Model

Autor: Yin-Chi Wang, 王胤琪
Rok vydání: 2007
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 95
This paper adopts a general two-sector endogenous growth model with leisure externalities incorporated in the utility function. Three cases are discussed: (1) leisure is not incorporated in the utility function; (2) leisure is in the utility function but without leisure externalities in the utility function and physical capital is not hired in the production of human capital; (3) leisure externality is added in the utility function and physical capital is used in the educational sector. When leisure is not incorporated in the utility function, the economy has a unique steady state given a set of parameters, while we cannot exclude the possibility of multiple equilibria when leisure is in the utility function. This paper finds that, when the intertemporal leisure elasticity of substitution is large enough and when physical capital is used as an input in the educational sector, the technology advancement in the goods and the educational sectors will raise the steady-state economic growth rate. Increases in the intertemporal leisure elasticity of substitution will increase the steady-state economic growth rate and lower the leisure level chosen by the agent. Increases in leisure externality will decrease the leisure level and raise the steady-state economic growth rate, but increases in the preference intensity for leisure will raise the fraction of human capital allocated to the goods sector, and reduce the steady-state growth rate. This paper also finds that changes in the intensity of leisure externalities might raise the life-time welfare of the representative agent if the growth rate is high enough.
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