On aggregation, market indexes, growth, and changes in the distribution of income.

摘要

A significant problem in forming the micro-foundations of macroeconomics and finance is that the representative consumer and aggregate production function typically used, is applicable as a description of the consumers and the producers in the population only under very restrictive conditions. We show, however, that restrictions on the heterogeneity of consumers or producers in the population are lifted if the distribution of income and output is allowed to change. In the following essays, we show how to construct not only aggregate representative consumers in product markets and assets markets but also aggregate production functions.