Extrepreneurship, Frictions and Wealth.

摘要

Entrepreneurship is a very important determinant of the distribution of wealth. In the data entrepreneurs are a small fraction of the population, but have a high saving rate and hold a large share of total wealth. Conversely, the distribution of wealth has a significant e.ect on entrepreneurship: initial assets have great influence on entrepreneurial decisions. We construct a model that generates these two facts from two features: an overlapping-generations structure and the limited ability to enforce repayment of the loans to entrepreneurs. These factors are su.cient to match wealth inequality very well, both for entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. We find that less restrictive borrowing constraints generate less wealth concentration and more entrepreneurs. We also find that there would be fewer large firms and the distribution of wealth would be less concentrated if all of the bequests that we do observe were accidental, rather than a mix of accidental and voluntary bequests.