English

Explicit Consumption Functions with Borrowing Constraints: a Continuous Time Approach

Theoretical Economics 2025-11-06 v1

Abstract

There is no known explicit global closed form solution for the standard income fluctuation problem with a borrowing constraint and where wealth accumulates with a constant interest rate rr. Using a continuous time formulation, I derive an explicit global closed form solution for the case r=0r=0 using the Lambert W function. For the case r>0r>0, I derive an explicit global closed form approximation that is valid for r0r\sim 0. I then use these to derive explicit expressions for the marginal propensity to consume out of assets and permanent income. I show that the cross-derivative between the two is strictly positive: the consumption consumption is supermodular.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.03452,
  title  = {Explicit Consumption Functions with Borrowing Constraints: a Continuous Time Approach},
  author = {Jordan Roulleau-Pasdeloup},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.03452},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T07:22:50.007Z