Recursive Utility, Endogenous Growth, and the Welfare Cost of Volatility

24 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2006

See all articles by Anne Epaulard

Anne Epaulard

Université Paris IX Dauphine

Aude Pommeret

University of Lausanne

Date Written: January 2001

Abstract

This paper proposes a measure of the welfare cost of volatility derived from an endogenous growth model (AK) under uncertainty extended to the case of a recursive utility function which disentangles risk aversion from intertemporal elasticity of substitution. It encompasses a direct welfare cost of fluctuations and a welfare cost due to the endogeneity of the consumption. The total welfare cost of volatility increases with both the risk aversion and the intertemporal elasticity of substitution. For plausible values of the agent`s preference parameters, the cost of volatility may be greater than measures based on an exogenous process for consumption.

Keywords: Welfare Cost of Fluctuations, Recursive Utility, Endogenous Growth, Risk

JEL Classification: E32, E60

Suggested Citation

Epaulard, Anne and Pommeret, Aude, Recursive Utility, Endogenous Growth, and the Welfare Cost of Volatility (January 2001). IMF Working Paper No. 01/5, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=879314

Anne Epaulard (Contact Author)

Université Paris IX Dauphine ( email )

223 Rue Saint-Honore
Paris, 75775
France

Aude Pommeret

University of Lausanne ( email )

Quartier Chambronne
Lausanne, Vaud CH-1015
Switzerland

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