Previous theoretical and computational analyses demonstrate that uncorrelated variations in individual asset returns promote extreme inequality in financial wealth. This paper describes a standard individual-based computational model of this financial accumulation process and then extends it in order to expose other key influences on wealth inequality. We find large effects of individual behavior, cultural practices, tax policy, and technological change. Specifically, we present simulation experiments with heterogeneous saving rates, a stylized marriage institution, a wealth tax structured to mirror contemporary policy proposals, and variations in wage growth. These experiments demonstrate that modest concessions to realism have large effects on long-run wealth inequality in models of the financial accumulation process.

先前的理论和计算分析表明，个人资产收益的不相关变化会导致金融财富的极端不平等。本文描述了这种金融积累过程的基于个人的标准计算模型，然后对其进行了扩展，以揭示对财富不平等的其他关键影响。我们发现个人行为，文化习俗，税收政策和技术变革的巨大影响。具体来说，我们提出了具有不同储蓄率，程式化婚姻制度，结构化以反映当代政策建议的财富税以及工资增长变化的模拟实验。这些实验表明，对现实主义的适度让步会对金融积累过程模型中的长期财富不平等产生重大影响。