Heterogeneous Time-Preference and the Distribution of Wealth

This paper analyzes a dynamic model in which physical capital can be accumulated or depleted, and labour supply is endogenous. The distribution of income is then endogenously determined by both technological parameters of production, and the distribution of agents' discount parameters. Degenerate wealth distributions, in which only the most patient agents have any wealth, are avoided by having a fraction of the agents die each period, and bequeath their wealth to descendants with independently random discount parameters. On average, more patient agents will have higher wealths and incomes, but in the short run agents' stocks of wealth depend on their inherited wealth. If a patient individual lives long enough, she will retire and live on only investment income, while if an impatient individual lives long enough, he will deplete all his wealth and live on only labour earnings. The effects of a general increase in patience are an increase in the wage rate, a lowering of the return on capital, and general increases in wealth, income, and utility. Possibilities for engineering such an increase, by promoting 'artificial patience', could include favourable taxation of investment income, forced savings such as payroll-tax financed pension plans, or public subsidies for education and health.time-preference, patience, wealth

Redistribution Policy in a Model with Heterogeneous Time Preference

We examine how redistribution policy affects the distribution of income when human capital accumulation is endogenous and the fundamental source of heterogeneity in the economy stems from varying degrees of time preference across members of the population. In comparing the steady states of a dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated to the Canadian economy, we find that progressively more generous income transfer programs (financed with a flat income tax) lead to only modest decreases in income inequality, but significant increases in earnings inequality and large losses in per capita output. With the exception of the bottom income quintile, individuals display a strong preference for the long-run situation associated with the absence of government redistribution policy. Nevertheless, taking into account transition dynamics, a majority of individuals would vote for implementation of redistribution policy. The distribution of time-preference plays a critical role in generating this last result. Nous examinons comment les politiques redistributrices influencent la distribution du revenu lorsque l'accumulation de capital humain est endogène et que la source fondamentale de l'hétérogénéité dans l'économie provient des différents degrés de préférence pour le présent dans la population. En comparant les états stationnaires d'un modèle d'équilibre général dynamique étalonné pour le Canada, nous trouvons que des programmes de transferts de revenu plus généreux (financés par une imposition uniforme des revenus) ne mènent qu'à de faibles baisses de l'inégalité des revenus, mais augmentent significativement l'inégalité des salaires et mènent à de grandes pertes au niveau du capital par tête. À l'exception du quintile le plus faible, les individus ont une forte prédilection pour la situation de long terme associée à une absence de politique de redistribution. Malgré tout, une majorité vote pour une politique redistributrice en tenant compte des dynamiques de transition. La distribution de la préférence pour le présent joue un rôle crucial pour obtenir ces derniers résultats.Heterogeneous time preference, redistribution, dynamic general equilibrium

Non-Steady-State Catalyst Characterization with Thin-Zone TAP Experiments

Rational catalyst design must be advanced beyond its state-of-the-art given the significant economic and environmental relevance of catalytic technologies. To address this challenge, precise kinetic characterization of industrial catalysts is required for elucidating complex reaction mechanisms, establishing structure-activity relationships, and building scientifically-sound microkinetic models of catalytic processes. In this thesis, a novel framework for non-steady-state high-throughput kinetic characterization of complex catalytic reactions is theoretically developed, experimentally validated, and applied to a catalytic reaction of considerable interest. This novel framework of catalyst characterization is based on Temporal Analysis of Products: TAP) experiments. These pulse-response experiments employ Knudsen diffusion as a reliable standard process of gas transport to measure intrinsic rates of chemical transformations on catalysts. Specifically, this work focuses on the Thin- Zone: TZ) configuration of the TAP microreactor which allows monitoring of reaction kinetics for a well-defined and spatially uniform catalyst state with resolution on the millisecond scale. In the TZ TAP reactor, a narrow catalytic sample is packed between two inert zones in order to minimize macroscopic concentration and temperature non-uniformities across the catalyst. Unlike traditional kinetic testing devices such as well-mixed or tubular reactors, the TZ TAP reactor maintains the catalyst in a highly uniform state for an extended range of reactant conversions. One of the main implications of maintaining TZ uniformity is the ability to effectively decouple reaction kinetics from external transport in the microreactor. Typically, TAP data analysis relies on a set of mechanistic assumptions about a reaction in order to obtain kinetic information from coupled reaction-diffusion data. In our framework, intra-pulse kinetic characteristics in the TZ including reaction rates, gaseous concentrations, and surface concentrations are reconstructed from exit flows via the \u27model free\u27 Y-Procedure and then used for elucidating the reaction mechanism and estimating kinetic parameters. The core idea of the data analysis framework developed in this thesis is that the network of elementary steps behind a catalytic reaction can be revealed by examining how reconstructed kinetic characteristics evolve in relation to each other during a pulse-response experiment. Our results suggest, for example, that the temporal coherence between reactant consumption and product generation rates can provide compelling arguments in favor of one potential reaction mechanism over another. The analysis of rate-concentration data can also be used to estimate intrinsic kinetic parameters once the network of reaction steps is identified. These theoretical developments have been translated into a viable experimental methodology which has been validated using well-characterized oxygen uptake on polycrystalline platinum as a benchmark problem. Finally, the Y-Procedure was applied to study CO oxidation and oxygen storage on the Au/SiO2 catalyst prepared by magnetron sputtering. Oxygen was introduced to the catalyst during ow pretreatments under elevated pressure and then titrated o the catalyst by multi-pulse CO sequences under TAP vacuum conditions. The data indicate that oxygen is stored on the catalyst in two kinetically distinct reservoirs. Both reservoirs get filled with oxygen under ow pretreatment, but only one of them directly contributes oxygen for CO oxidation under vacuum. The two reservoirs exchange oxygen between each other and after one of them is depleted by the oxidation reaction during a CO pulse, the second reservoir resupplies oxygen before the next CO pulse arrives. Further research is needed to identify the chemical nature of the second oxygen reservoir. However, our findings testify to the utility of the Y-Procedure as an advanced tool for mechanistic research in catalysis. The thesis outlook section suggests several research directions which will be facilitated by the systematic application of the Y-Procedure

A Hermeneutics of Blessing as a Meta-Requisite for Reconciliation: John E. Toews’ Romans Paradigm as a Case Study

Within an overall framework of reconciliation as a transformation of mimetic structures of violence to mimetic structures of blessing, teachings of blessing are needed throughout the process. “Teachings” are considered as paradigmatic stories, principles, insights, and practical wisdom that are derived both from religious traditions and the human sciences. “Blessing” refers to that which contributes to sustained human well-being at the individual, collective and relational levels. A hermeneutics of blessing is a deliberate interpretive endeavour directed toward the generation of teachings of blessing. It can be used with any particular source and the insights can be both direct and inverse, identifying what is helpful and not helpful for reconciliation processes. John E. Toews, biblical scholar specializing on the book of Romans in the New Testament, is examined as someone practicing a hermeneutics of blessing. His paradigm of Romans shows how it can be viewed as a letter addressing an identity-based conflict involving Jews and Gentiles. A set of practical teachings of blessing is synthesized from Romans 12 to 15, using the Toews hermeneutical paradigm