经济学系列论坛
(2025年第4期，总第29期)
报告题目：Transforming Luxury to Necessity
报告人： 江深哲 北京大学
时间： 10.16 星期四（上午10:00 - 11:30）
地点： A1148
邀请人： 金昊
讲座摘要：
Many economists believe that important products are initially invented as luxuries for the rich but eventually diffuse to become necessities for the poor. This paper is the first to document this process using comprehensive micro-level data and to examine how income inequality shapes firm innovation. We establish three facts: (i) poor consumers’ expenditure shares on products rise over time; (ii) firms serving richer consumers innovate more; and (iii) firm entry accompanies product diffusion. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model with hierarchical consumption and endogenous firm dynamics to account for these patterns. The model replicates the empirical findings and shows that rising inequality distorts innovation, disproportionately discouraging firms targeting lower-income consumers. Quantifying the model with U.S. retail scanner data and patent records, we find that rising inequality accounts for more than half of the observed slowdown in per-capita GDP growth over the last five decades.
报告人简介：
江深哲，北京大学新结构经济学研究院副院长（教研）、长聘副教授。2017年获美国德克萨斯农工大学经济学博士学位，主要研究领域为宏观经济理论，动态契约理论。主要的研究问题包括：房地产与土地政策、财政政策与基础设施投资、经济发展中的国家策略行为。其研究论文发表在 Economic Journal，International Economic Review，Economic Theory, 《中国社会科学》，《经济学（季刊）》等国际国内一流杂志上。主持国家青年自然科学基金一项、国家自然科学基金面上项目一项。
