Life-Cycle Economies and Aggregate Fluctuations

Abstract

Do the implications for business cycle issues change when we switch from studying infinitely-lived, representative-agent models to more sophisticated demographic structures with finitely lived agents? This article addresses that question by using a large, overlapping-generations model that is calibrated to U.S. demographic properties, microeconomic evidence, and National Income and Product Accounts. The finding is that the answers obtained are basically the same for the two kinds of models. The article also explores the relative volatility of hours across age groups, an issue that cannot be addressed by using the infinitely-lived, representative-agent abstraction.