What are the implications of costly self-control for understanding wealth inequality? At this year’s Journées Louis-André Gérard-Varet (LAGV) 2026, Marcin presented his revised work on the implications of modelling self-control as a costly resource within a temptation-preferences framework.

The paper studies how accounting for costly self-control affects our understanding of wealth distribution. Relative to standard models with fixed time preferences, the temptation framework offers a structural and behaviorally grounded explanation for heterogeneity in discount rates and for the positive association between patience and wealth. In doing so, it helps match several empirical regularities observed in the data. The framework also suggests that patience itself may be a relevant policy target. In particular, the results point to age-dependent, fiscally neutral income taxation as a potentially effective instrument for improving the long-run wealth outcomes of lower-wealth agents.

We are very grateful to the conference organizers for the invitation, and to the participants for their fruitful, instructive, and actionable comments during the discussion.