Abstract
The present work considers the problem of valuing a future income stream in a perfect foresight economy. In this setting, with competitive equilibrium in labor and asset markets, market valuation of labor-generated income streams can be very simple. However, it can also be undone by moral hazard, in which case valuation may be based instead on fair compensation. I show that perfect foresight valuation emerges somewhat imperfectly in the forensic economics literature. To apply this type of valuation, the economist must form an expectation E[P] about perfect foresight price P. I consider several models of this expectation, some of which yield standard present value equations. I find that, while standard equations “fit” historical data well in some respects, they miss some dynamics that are better captured by more advanced econometric methods.
EXISTENCE OF COMPETITIVE EQUILIBRIUM IN AN OPTIMAL GROWTH MODEL WITH HETEROGENEOUS AGENTS AND ENDOGENOUS LEISURE