Wealth inequality and aggregate demand

The paper investigates how including the distribution of wealth changes the demand effects of redistributing functional income. It develops a model with an endogenous wealth distribution and shows that the endogenous rise in wealth inequality resulting from a redistribution toward profits weakens the growth effects of this redistribution. Consequently, a wage‐led regime becomes more strongly wage‐led. A profit‐led regime on the other hand becomes less profit‐led and there may even be a regime switch––in this case the short‐run profit‐led economy becomes wage‐led in the long run due to the endogenous effects of wealth inequality. The paper thereby provides a possible explanation for the instability of demand regimes over time.