Working Paper
An analytical approach to buffer-stock saving
Abstract: The profession has been longing for closed-form solutions to consumption functions under uncertainty and borrowing constraints. This paper proposes an analytical approach to solving buffer-stock saving models with both idiosyncratic and aggregate uncertainties. It is shown analytically that an individual?s optimal consumption plan under uncertainty follows the rule of thumb: Consumption is proportional to a target wealth with the marginal propensity to consume depending on the state of the macroeconomy. The method is applied to addressing two long- standing puzzles: the \"excess smoothness\" and \"excess sensitivity\" of consumption with respect to income changes. Some of my findings sharply contradict the conventional wisdom.
Keywords: Saving and investment; Income;
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Bibliographic Information
Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Part of Series: Working Papers
Publication Date: 2009
Number: 2009-026