Stochastic Optimal Growth with Bounded or
Unbounded Utility and with Bounded or
Unbounded Shocks
Takashi Kamihigashi∗
RIEB, Kobe University, 2-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
CERMSEM, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, 106-112 boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75647 Paris, France
E-mail address: tkamihig@rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp

May 29, 2006
Abstract
This paper studies a one-sector stochastic optimal growth model with i.i.d.
productivity shocks in which utility is allowed to be bounded or unbounded,
the shocks are allowed to be bounded or unbounded, and the production
function is not required to satisfy the Inada conditions at zero and infinity.
Our main results are threefold. First, we confirm the Euler equation as well as
the existence of a continuous optimal policy function under a minimal set ofassumptions. Second, we establish the existence of an invariant distribution
under quite general assumptions. Third, we show that the output density
converges to a unique invariant density independently of initial output under
the assumption that the shock distribution has a density whose support isan interval, bounded or unbounded. In addition, we provide existence andstability results for general one-dimensional Markov processes.
JEL Classification: C61; C62; E32; O41
Keywords: Stochastic growth; Unbounded utility; Bounded or unboundedshocks; Markov processes; Existence and stability of a invariant distribution∗

I would like to thank John Stachurski for providing numerous helpful comments aswell as for suggesting an extension of Nishimura and Stachurski’s (2005) analysis to thecase of bounded shocks. Financial support from the 21st Century COE Program at GSE
and RIEB, Kobe University, is gratefully acknowledged.

1Introduction

Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in stochastic growth theory (e.g., Stachurski, 2002; Nishimura and Stachurski, 2005; Kamihigashi,
2005; Mitra et al. 2004; Mitra and Roy, 2006). One of the important recent
developments is that the global stability of the optimal output (or capital)
process, originally shown by Brock and Mirman (1972) in the case of boundedshocks, has been extended to the case of unbounded shocks by Stachurski(2002), Nishimura and Stachurski (2005), and Zhang (2005).1 Many of theirarguments, however, rest on the assumption of unbounded shocks, and do
not immediately apply to the case of bounded shocks. One of the purposesof this paper is to offer a unified argument that applies simultaneously toboth bounded and unbounded cases.
Another purpose of this paper is to confirm the Euler equation as wellas the existence of a continuous optimal policy function even when utility is
unbounded. While it is extremely common to assume unbounded utility inapplications, the Euler equation and the existence of a continuous optimal
policy function have been formally verified only in the case of bounded utility except for a few parametric examples.2 With bounded utility, standard
arguments imply that the value function is the unique solution of the Bellman equation (e.g., Stokey and Lucas, 1989), so that one can immediately
derive the Euler equation by applying the envelope theorem to the Bellman
equation. While various results are available for cases with unbounded utility concerning the Bellman equation and the existence of an optimal policy
function (e.g., Schäl, 1975; Bhattacharaya and Majumdar, 1989; HernándezLerma and Lasserre, 1996, 1999; Durán, 2003), no result seems to be available
that allows one to directly obtain the Bellman and Euler equations for the
one-sector growth model when utility is unbounded both below and above.3
For the above and other purposes, we study a one-sector stochastic growthmodel with i.i.d. productivity shocks in which utility is allowed to be boundedor unbounded, the shocks are allowed to be bounded or unbounded, and the1

See Olson and Roy (2005) for a recent survey of the stochastic growth literature.
Most of the literature has relied on Mirman and Zilcha (1975). Their result assumes
that utility is bounded below and that consumption is bounded above (rather than utility
being bounded above) along any feasible process.
3
Note that there is no result in Stokey and Lucas (1989, Section 9.1) that shows thatthe value function solves the Bellman equation. See Le Van and Morhaim (2002) for
related results in the deterministic case.
2

1

production function is not required to satisfy the Inada conditions at zeroand infinity. Our main results are threefold. First, we confirm the Euler
equation and the existence of a continuous optimal policy function under aminimal set of assumptions. Second, we establish the existence of an invariant (or stationary) distribution under quite general assumptions. Essentially,
the only additional requirement for this result is that the marginal productof capital be not too small when the capital stock is very small, and not toolarge when the capital stock is very large. Third, we establish the global stability of the optimal output process by showing that the probability densityof optimal output converges to a unique invariant density independently of
initial output. For this result, we assume that the shock distribution has adensity whose support is an interval, bounded or unbounded.
Our existence and stability results are obtained by extending Nishimura
and Stachurski’s (2005) arguments. Our contribution is that except for concavity of the production function, our assumptions are considerably weaker
than those of Stachurski (2002) and Nishimura and Stachurski (2005). In
particular we do not assume multiplicative or unbounded shocks; nor do we
require the production function to satisfy the Inada condition at infinity. Furthermore our existence result does not require the shock distribution to havea density or the production function to depend positively on the shock.4 To
our knowledge, our existence result is the most general one currently available
on the Brock-Mirman model with i.i.d. shocks.5
In addition to our main results, we show existence and stability results forgeneral one-dimensional Markov processes. Though they are not difficult toprove based on well known results on Markov processes, our results are easy
to apply since they are stated in terms of primitives, allowing one to bypass
numerous definitions required to understand many of the underlying results.
Our general results also clarify what needs to be shown for our existence andstability results for the one-sector model.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents themodel and basic assumptions, and confirms the Euler equation as well as
the existence of a continuous optimal policy function. Section 3 establishes
4

Mirman and Zilcha (1975) treated such a case with bounded shocks.
Our existence result is also weaker than that of Zhang (2005), which assumes thatutility is bounded below and the production function satisfies both Inada conditions. Our
and his stability results cannot be ranked since his result assumes unbounded shocks but,like many stability results in the literature, does not require the shock distribution to havea density.
52

the existence of an invariant distribution after stating an existence result for
general one-dimensional Markov processes. Section 4 establishes the global
stability of the optimal output process after stating a stability result for general one-dimensional Markov processes. Section 5 concludes the paper bycommenting on possible extensions. All proofs are relegated to the appendices.

2

The Model

Consider the following maximization problem:∞X

β t u(ct )(2.1)

s.t. ∀t ∈ Z+ , ct + kt+1 = yt ,ct , kt+1 ≥ 0,
yt+1 = f (kt+1 , zt+1 ),y0 ≥ 0 given,

(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.4)
(2.5)

max

{ct ,kt+1 }∞
t=0

E

t=0

where β ∈ (0, 1) is the discount factor, u is the utility function, f is the
production function, ct is consumption in period t, kt is the capital stock at
the beginning of period t, and zt is the productivity shock in period t. The
infinite sum in (2.1) is understood as a Lebesgue integral, and initial output
y0 is assumed to be non-random. Let us state and discuss our assumptions.
Assumption 2.1. u : R+ → [−∞, ∞) is C 1 on R++ , continuous, strictlyincreasing, and strictly concave, satisfying
lim u0 (c) = ∞.
c↓0

(2.6)

Note that the utility function u is allowed to be unbounded both aboveand below.
Assumption 2.2. f : R+ × R+ → R+ satisfies the following. (i) ∀z ≥0, f (0, z) = 0, and f (·, z) : R+ → R+ is C 1 on R++ , continuous, concave, andincreasing.6 (ii) ∀x ≥ 0, f (x, ·) : R+ → R+ is a Borel(-measurable) function.7
6

In this paper, “increasing” means “nondecreasing.” Similar remarks apply to “decreasing,” “positive,” and “negative.”
7
By Stokey and Lucas (1989, Theorem 7.4), this implies that f1 (x, ·) is a Borel function
since it is the pointwise limit of the sequence {[f (x + (1/n), ·) − f (x, ·)]n}∞
n=1 .

3

The domain of f can alternatively be specified to be the product of R+
and the range of zt ; in that case, f can easily be extended to R2+ as long as
the range of zt belongs to R+ . Note that the production function f is not
required to satisfy the Inada conditions at zero and infinity; nor is it required
to be increasing in the second argument.
Assumption 2.3. {zt }∞t=1 is a positive i.i.d. process with a distribution Φ :R+ → [0, 1] such that∃x > 0,Ef1 (x, z) > 0,

(2.7)

where z is a random variable with the distribution Φ.8
If Ef1 (x, z) = 0 for all x > 0, then f (x, z) = 0 with probability 1 for allx > 0. The role of (2.7) is to rule out this trivial case.
We use the following definitions. Given y0 ≥ 0, a stochastic process3{ct , kt+1 , yt+1 }∞t=0 in R+ is feasible (from y0 ) if it satisfies (2.2)–(2.4) and
if {ct } is adapted to the filtration generated by {zt }. A feasible process
is optimal (from y0 ) if it solves the maximization problem (2.1)–(2.5). A
function π : R+ → R+ is a feasible policy function if for each y0 ≥ 0, theprocess {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 } given below is feasible:∀t ∈ Z+ ,kt+1 = π(yt ), ct = yt − π(yt ), yt+1 = f (kt+1 , zt+1 ).

(2.8)

An optimal policy function is a feasible policy function π such that for eachy0 ≥ 0, the process {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 } given by (2.8) is optimal. If {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 }is feasible or optimal, then {ct }, {yt }, and {ct , kt+1 } are called feasible or
optimal accordingly.
For y ∈ R+ , define {ct (y)}∞t=0 byc0 (y) = y,∀t ∈ Z+ , ct+1 (y) = f (ct (y), zt+1 ).

(2.9)

Note that ct (y) is the largest possible consumption level in period t frominitial output y.
Pt
9Assumption 2.4. ∀y ≥ 0, E ∞t=0 β u(ct (y))+ < ∞.
8Unless otherwise indicated, the variable z is understood this way for the rest of thepaper.
9u(ct (y))+ ≡ max{u(ct (y)), 0}.

4

This assumption ensures that the objective function is always well defined.
It also allows one to apply Tonelli’s theorem (e.g., Dudley, 2002, p. 137) toβ t [u(ct ) − u(ct (y))+ ] ≤ 0 to obtain
∞
X

∞
X

β t Eu(ct )(2.10)

for any feasible consumption process {ct } from y ≥ 0.
For y ≥ 0, define∞Xv(y) = sup E
β t u(ct ),(2.11)Et

β u(ct ) =

t=0

t=0

t=0

where the supremum is taken over all feasible consumption processes {ct }from y.
Assumption 2.5. ∀y > 0, v(y) > −∞.
This is a minimum requirement for the maximization problem to be nontrivial except when initial output is zero. The assumption simply meansthat there is at least one feasible process that results in a finite value of theobjective function as long as initial output is strictly positive.
The following result confirms, among other things, the Bellman equation,
the existence of a unique optimal policy function, and the Euler equation.
Theorem 2.1. Let Assumptions 2.1–2.5 hold. Then v is continuously differentiable on R++ , strictly increasing, and strictly concave, satisfying∀y ≥ 0,v(y) = max {u(y − x) + βEv(f (x, z))}.
0≤x≤y(2.12)

Furthermore, there exists a unique optimal policy function k : R+ → R+ ,which satisfies∀y > 0, 0 < k(y) < y.
(2.13)
Define c : R+ → R+ by∀y ≥ 0,c(y) = y − k(y).

(2.14)

Then k and c are continuous and strictly increasing, satisfying∀y > 0,u0 (c(y)) = E{u0 (c(f (k(y), z)))f1 (k(y), z)}.

(2.15)

Proof. See Appendix A.10
10

For the rest of the paper including the appendices, we omit expressions like “almost
surely” and “almost everywhere” when there is no risk of confusion.

5

3

Existence of an Invariant Distribution

This section offers sufficient conditions for existence of an invariant distribution for the optimal output process. Let us begin by defining the Markov
process that the optimal output process {yt } follows. For the rest of thepaper, {yt } is understood as the optimal output process unless otherwise
indicated.
For y, z ≥ 0, definem(y, z) = f (k(y), z).
(3.1)
Then the output process {yt } follows∀t ∈ Z+ ,yt+1 = m(yt , zt+1 ).

(3.2)

Let P (A) denote the probability of event A. For y, y 0 ≥ 0, define
Q(y, y 0 ) = P (m(y, z) ≤ y 0 ),(3.3)

which is the conditional distribution of next period output y 0 given current
output y. For t ∈ Z+ , let Gt be the distribution of yt . Since y0 is non-random,
G0 assigns all probability mass to y0 , and G1 is simply the conditional distribution of y 0 given y = y0 :∀y 0 ≥ 0,

G1 (y 0 ) = Q(y0 , y 0 ).

(3.4)

In period t ∈ N, yt is distributed as Gt , so Gt+1 is the conditional distributionof y 0 given y weighted according to Gt :11Z00∀t ∈ N, ∀y ≥ 0, Gt+1 (y ) = Q(y, y 0 )dGt (y).
(3.5)
An invariant distribution is defined as a distribution G∗ : R+ → [0, 1] satisfying
Z0∗ 0∀y ≥ 0, G (y ) = Q(y, y 0 )dG∗ (y),(3.6)
G∗ (0) = 0.
11

(3.7)

Equation (3.5) is a version of the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation (e.g., Meyn andTweedie, 1996, (3.25)). An easy way to see (3.5) is to note that Gt+1 (y 0 ) = P (m(yt , zt+1 ) ≤y 0 ) = E1{m(yt , zt+1 ) ≤ y 0 } = Eyt Ezt+1 1{m(yt , zt+1 ) ≤ y 0 } = Eyt Q(yt , y 0 ), where 1{·} isthe indicator function and Eyt is the expectation with respect to yt , etc.

6

By requiring (3.7), we rule out the trivial distribution that assigns all
probability mass to 0. Note that (3.6) trivially holds if G∗ (0) = 1. If there
is a distribution G∗ with 0 < G∗ (0) < 1 that satisfies (3.6), then G ≡ (G∗ −G∗ (0))/(1 − G∗ (0)) satisfies (3.6) and (3.7). Hence (3.7) is a normalization
condition once the trivial distribution is ruled out.
Let us introduce some assumptions on the production function to ensure
the existence of an invariant distribution (which is by definition nontrivial).
Assumption 3.1. f : R+ × R+ → R+ is continuous.
This assumption ensures that m as defined in (3.1) is continuous since k
is continuous by Theorem 2.1.
Assumption 3.2. ∃x̂ > 0, Ef (x̂, z) < ∞.
This assumption reduces to Ez < ∞ iff (x, z) = fˆ(x)z + (1 − δ)x(3.8)

for some fˆ : R+ → R+ and δ ∈ (0, 1] for all x ≥ 0. Assumption 3.2 in fact
implies∀x ≥ 0, Ef (x, z) < ∞,(3.9)
since f (x, z) ≤ f (x̂, z) for x ∈ (0, x̂), and f (x, z)/x ≤ f (x̂, z)/x̂ for x > x̂ byconcavity.
Assumption 3.3. limx↑∞ Ef1 (x, z) < 1.
Under (3.8) this assumption holds for any δ ∈ (0, 1] as long as limx↑∞ fˆ0 (x) =0. By contrast the Inada condition limx↑∞ Ef1 (x, z) = 0, a typical assumption in the literature, requires δ = 1 under (3.8).
The role of Assumptions 3.2 and 3.3 is to prevent probability mass fromescaping to infinity. The next two assumptions enable one to prevent probability mass from escaping to zero.
Assumption 3.4. ∃r̃, x̃ > 0, Ef1 (x̃, z)−r̃ < ∞.
This assumption reduces to Ez −r̃ < ∞ under (3.8) with δ = 1. Note that
Assumption 3.4 implies f1 (x̃, z) > 0 with probability 1, which in turn implies∀x > 0,P (f (x, z) > 0) = 1.

(3.10)

Since k(y) > 0 for y > 0, it follows thaty0 > 0⇒∀t ∈ N, P (yt > 0) = 1.

(3.11)

Hence we may restrict the state space of {yt } to R++ provided y0 > 0.
7

Assumption 3.5. limx↓0 E ln[βf1 (x, z)] > 0.
The above expectation is well defined for x ∈ (0, x̃] under Assumption 3.4(by Lemma B.1 with ζ = {βf1 (x, z)}−1 ). Nishimura and Stachurski (2005)
required (3.8) with δ = 1 and Assumption 3.4 with r̃ = 1. They also assumed
the following in our notation:
¸
·
1
< 1,
(3.12)
E
βf1 (0, z)
where f1 (0, z) = limx↓0 f1 (x, z). Assumption 3.5 is strictly weaker than (3.12)
as long as P (f1 (0, z) < ∞) > 0 and f1 (0, z) is not a degenerate randomvariable where f1 (0, z) < ∞. For then, by Jensen’s inequality,
ln E

1
1
> E ln= −E ln[βf1 (0, z)].
βf1 (0, z)
βf1 (0, z)(3.13)The expectation on the rightmost side equals the limit in Assumption 3.5 by
the monotone convergence theorem. We argue below that Assumption 3.5 ispossibly the tightest condition on f and β to prevent probability mass fromescaping to zero.
Following Nishimura and Stachurski (2005), we establish the existence ofan invariant distribution by constructing a “Lyapunov” function. The following result gives sufficient conditions for existence of an invariant distribution
for general Markov processes on R+ .
Lemma 3.1. Let m : R+ × R+ → R+ be a continuous function. Let {zt } bea positive i.i.d. process. Consider the Markov process (3.2). Suppose there
exists a function V : R+ → [0, ∞] such that(i) V (0) = ∞, (ii) ∀y > 0, V (y) < ∞,(i) lim V (y) = ∞, (ii) lim V (y) = ∞,y↓0

∃λ ∈ [0, 1), ∃α ≥ 0, ∀y > 0,y↑∞

E[V (m(y, z))] ≤ λV (y) + α.

(3.14)(3.15)(3.16)

Then there exists an invariant distribution (which is nontrivial by our definition).
Proof. See Appendix B.

8

The idea of this result is that an invariant distribution exists as long asprobability mass does not escape to zero or infinity. As the proof shows,(3.16) implies that {E[V (yt )]}∞
t=0 is a bounded sequence. This means that,loosely speaking, yt cannot go to zero since otherwise E[V (yt )] blows up by(3.15)(i). Likewise yt cannot go to infinity since otherwise E[V (yt )] blows upby (3.15)(ii). As this discussion suggests, the two conditions in (3.15) can beused independently to prevent probability mass from escaping to zero or toinfinity.12 We are now ready to state the main result of this section.
Theorem 3.1. Under Assumptions 2.1–2.5 and 3.1–3.5, there exists an invariant distribution.
Proof. See Appendix B.
The crucial assumption for preventing probability mass from escaping
to zero is Assumption 3.5. If z is non-random, the assumption reduces toβf1 (0, z) > 1, which is the well known condition to prevent convergence tozero in the deterministic case. To see that Assumption 3.5 is quite tight evenin the stochastic case, let θ > 0, and suppose (i) u(c) = ln c, (ii) f (x, z) = θzx,(iii) Ez −r̃ < ∞ for some r̃ > 0, (iv) Ez = 1, and (v) E| ln z| < ∞. In thiscase it is well known that the optimal policy function is given by k(y) = βy.
By (iii), Assumption 3.4 holds. Assumption 3.5 now reduces toE ln z + ln(βθ) > 0.

(3.17)

This condition prevents probability mass from escaping to zero independentlyof Assumptions 3.2 and 3.3. On the other hand, it follows from Kamihigashi(2005, Theorem 3.1) that the output process {yt } from any y0 > 0 converges
to zero with probability 1 if13
E ln z + ln(βθ) < 0.

(3.18)

Since almost sure convergence implies convergence in probability (e.g., Dudley, 2002, p. 261), (3.18) implies that there is no (nontrivial) invariant distribution. In view of (3.17) and (3.18), it seems possible that Assumption 3.5 is
12

See Nishimura and Stachurski (2005, p. 109) for a more formal discussion.
To apply the theorem, in Section 3 of Kamihigashi (2005), assume kt+1 = βθzt kt(which is the optimal capital process) and ct = 0 for all t ∈ Z+ . See Nishimura et al.
(2006) and Mitra and Roy (2005) for related results.
13

9

the tightest condition on f and β to prevent probability mass from escaping
to zero.
By contrast, Assumption 3.3, the main assumption used to prevent probability mass from escaping to infinity, is not as tight as Assumption 3.5. In
fact, Assumptions 3.2 and 3.3 can be weakened along the lines of Assumptions 3.4 and 3.5 using Lemma B.1. The weaker versions of these assumptions
are not stated here since the original assumptions are easier to interpret andalready sufficient for most purposes. In addition, even the weaker version ofAssumption 3.3 does not reduce to the corresponding condition in the deterministic case, i.e., limx↑∞ βf1 (x, z) < 1 with z being non-random.14 Thiscan be seen from the fact that Assumption 3.3 does not involve β. Hence
there seems to be room for improving Assumption 3.3 by utilizing the Euler
equation or other optimality conditions, though it does not seem trivial.

4

Global Stability

This section offers sufficient conditions for global stability of the output process. Let us begin by introducing an assumption on the distribution Φ ofzt .
Assumption 4.1. The distribution Φ has a density φ such that for somez, z ∈ [0, ∞] with z < z, (i) ∀z ∈ Z ≡ (z, z), φ(z) > 0, (ii) ∀z ∈ R+ \[z, z], φ(z) = 0, and (iii) there exists a continuous function φ : R++ → R+such that ∀z > 0, φ(z) ≤ φ(z) and ∀z ∈ Z, φ(z) > 0.
The support of the density φ is an interval, bounded or unbounded. Beyond this, the only requirement is that φ be everywhere greater than or equal
to some continuous function with essentially the same support. Note that φ
is not required to be continuous or bounded.
Given Assumption 4.1, the following assumption allows us to express the
distribution of yt for t ≥ 1 by a density.
Assumption 4.2. f is C 1 on R++ × R++ with f2 > 0 on R++ × R++ . Ifz = ∞, then ∀x > 0, f (x, ∞) ≡ limz↑∞ f (x, z) = ∞.
Let us show that the distribution of yt for t ≥ 1 has a density, and derive
an equation that characterizes its evolution. First define h : [0, ∞) → [0, ∞)14

See Kamihigashi and Roy (2005) for such conditions in the deterministic case.

10and h : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞] byh(y) = f (k(y), z),h(y) = f (k(y), z).

(4.1)

Note that h(y) and h(y) are the lowest and highest levels of output that canbe reached next period from current output y. These functions have often
been used in the case of bounded shocks (e.g., Brock and Mirman, 1972;
Olson and Roy, 2005).
For y, y 0 > 0 with y 0 ∈ (h(y), h(y)), define ζ(y, y 0 ) by
y 0 = f (k(y), ζ(y, y 0 )).

(4.2)

Note that ζ(y, y 0 ) is continuous in (y, y 0 ), decreasing in y, and continuously
differentiable in y 0 with
ζ2 (y, y 0 ) =1.
f2 (k(y), ζ(y, y 0 ))(4.3)

Let y > 0 and y 0 ∈ (h(y), h(y)). Since f (x, ·) is increasing by Assumption
4.2,
P (f (k(y), z) ≤ y 0 ) = P (z ≤ ζ(y, y 0 )) = Φ(ζ(y, y 0 )).
(4.4)
Since Q(y, y 0 ) = P (f (k(y), z) ≤ y 0 ) by definition (recall (3.3)),
Q(y, y 0 ) = Φ(ζ(y, y 0 ))Z ζ(y,y0 )φ(ξ)dξ
=

(4.5)
(4.6)

z

Z y0
φ(ζ(y, x))ζ2 (y, x)dx,

=

(4.7)

h(y)

where the last equality uses the change of variables ξ = ζ(y, x). Recalling(4.3), we see that the conditional distribution of y 0 given y has density0 φ(ζ(y, y ))if y 0 ∈ (h(y), h(y)),
q(y, y 0 ) = f2 (k(y), ζ(y, y 0 ))
(4.8)

0
otherwise.
This density, like all other probability densities, is unique up to sets of measure zero. It follows from (4.5)–(4.8) thatZ y0
00∀y, y > 0, Q(y, y ) =q(y, x)dx.
(4.9)
0

11

Now by (3.5), (4.9), and Tonelli’s theorem, for y 0 > 0,
Z Z y00

Gt+1 (y ) =q(y, x)dx dGt (y)(4.10)q(y, x)dGt (y) dx.

(4.11)

0

Z y0 Z=
0

R
Hence Gt+1 has density q(y, x)dGt (y) whether or not Gt has a density. Thisimplies that G1 has a density, and any invariant distribution has a density.
Thus we restrict attention to densities in what follows.
Let D be the set of probability Rdensities on R++ , i.e., the set of Borel
functions g : R++ → R+ such that g(x)dx = 1. We consider densities on
R++ rather than R+ because of (3.11). Given y0 > 0, let gty0 ∈ D be thedensity of yt (or Gt ) for t ∈ N. From (4.10) and (4.11),Z
y0
00∀t ∈ N, ∀y > 0, gt+1 (y ) = q(y, y 0 )gty0 (y)dy.
(4.12)
Define T : D → D byZ
0∀y > 0,0(T g)(y ) =q(y, y 0 )g(y)dy.

(4.13)

An invariant density is defined as a density g ∗ ∈ D satisfying T g ∗ = g ∗ , i.e.,Z0∗ 0∀y > 0, g (y ) = q(y, y 0 )g ∗ (y)dy.
(4.14)For any function g : R++ → R+ , define the support of g as
S(g) = {y > 0 | g(y) > 0}.

(4.15)Let B be the set of Borel subsets of R++ . The following result gives sufficientconditions for global stability for general Markov processes on R++ .
Lemma 4.1. Let m : R2++ → R++ . Let {zt } be an i.i.d. process on R++ .
Consider the Markov process (3.2). Define Q : R2++ → R+ by (3.3).15 Assume the following.
15

Since Q fully characterizes the Markov process, no direct assumptions are needed onm and {zt } for this lemma.

12(i) There is a function V : R++ → R+ satisfying (3.15) and (3.16).
(ii) There is a Borel function q : R2++ → R+ satisfying (4.9).
(iii) There is a lower semicontinuous function q : R2++ → R+ such that∀y, y 0 > 0,q(y, y 0 ) ≤ q(y, y 0 ),Z∀y > 0,q(y, y 0 )dy 0 > 0,

(4.16)∃ỹ > 0, q(ỹ, ỹ) > 0.

(4.18)(4.17)(iv) There is a set A ∈ B of strictly positive Lebesgue measure such that∀y0 > 0, ∃t ∈ N, A ⊂ S(gty0 ),(4.19)

where gty0 is as defined above.16
Then there exists a unique invariant density g ∗ ∈ D. Furthermore, there
exist ρ ∈ (0, 1) and R > 0 such thatZ∀y0 > 0, ∀t ∈ N,
|gty0 (y) − g ∗ (y)|Ṽ (y)dy ≤ ρt RṼ (y0 ),(4.20)
where Ṽ = V + 1.
Proof. See Appendix C.
We are now ready to state the main result of this section.
Theorem 4.1. Let Assumptions 2.1–2.5, 3.1–3.5, 4.1, and 4.2 hold. Then(i) there exists a function V : R++ → R+ satisfying (3.15) and (3.16);17 (ii)there exists a unique invariant density g ∗ ∈ D; and (iii) there exist ρ ∈ (0, 1)
and R > 0 satisfying (4.20).
Proof. See Appendix C.
Note that (4.20) implies
Z∀y0 > 0, ∀t ∈ N,

|gty0 (y) − g ∗ (y)|dy ≤ ρt RṼ (y0 ).

16(4.21)

Under (4.9), the left-hand side of (4.10) equals the right-hand side of (4.11), so the
distribution of yt has a density for t ≥ 1.
17
The function V is given by (B.29) and (B.11).

13

This is the main conclusion of Nishimura and Stachurski (2005, Theorem3.1).18 The additional implication of (4.20) is that the tails of gty0 converge
much faster than the middle part by (3.15).
The convergence property (4.20) is known as V -uniform ergodicity in theliterature on Markov processes (e.g., Meyn and Tweedie, 1996) since (4.20)
means that convergence occurs uniformly at a common rate for all y0 ∈ R++
if the distance between gty0 and g ∗ is adjusted appropriately by V . In addition
to global stability, V -uniform ergodicity has various useful implications, as
shown by Nishimura and Stachurski (2005).
As mentioned in the introduction, except for concavity of the production
function, all our assumptions are weaker than those of Stachurski (2002) andNishimura and Stachurski (2005). In particular they assumed that z = 0,z = ∞, and φ is continuous, in addition to requiring stronger conditions
than the assumptions stated in Section 3, as discussed there. Theorem 4.1
confirms their claim that the assumption of unbounded shocks “is not related
to the basic idea” of their analysis.

5Concluding Remarks

In this paper we have studied a one-sector stochastic growth model with i.i.d.
productivity shocks in which utility is allowed to be bounded or unbounded,
the shocks are allowed to be bounded or unbounded, and the production function is not required to satisfy the Inada conditions at zero and infinity. We
have (i) confirmed the Euler equation as well as the existence of a continuous
optimal policy function under a minimal set of assumptions, (ii) establishedthe existence of an invariant distribution under quite general assumptions,and (iii) established the global stability of the optimal output process under
the assumption that the shock distribution has a density whose support is aninterval, bounded or unbounded. Let us conclude the paper by commenting
on possible extensions.
As far as the model studied in this paper is concerned, there seems to be
little room left for generalizing our first result. Extensions to more generalframeworks seem possible, but may not be straightforward. The nontrivial
step in such extensions is to show that the expectation of the next-period
18

Their definition of V corresponds to Ṽ in our notation; see Nishimura and Stachurski(2005, Eq. (6)). Their proof actually implies (4.20).

14

value function is continuous in current state variables (to apply the maximum
theorem) and differentiable (to apply the envelope theorem).
As discussed in Section 3, there seems to be some room left for generalizing our existence result by weakening our assumptions used to prevent
probability mass from escaping to infinity. But our assumptions used toprevent probability mass from escaping to zero are quite tight and possibly
already the tightest. While it is straightforward to extend our existence resultfor general one-dimensional Markov processes to the multi-dimensional case,checking the corresponding conditions for a multi-sector growth model or a
one-sector model with correlated shocks is probably not trivial, particularly
when consumption is not monotone in state variables.19
Finally, it does not seem trivial to extend our stability argument for the
one-sector model to cases in which the support of the shock density may not
be a single interval. The main difficulty in such cases is to find a set of strictly
positive measure that is covered by the support of the output density in finite
time, independently of initial output. A weaker stability result, however, canbe shown without requiring the shock distribution to have a density even in
the case of unbounded shocks; see Zhang (2005). Like our general existence
result, our stability result for general one-dimensional Markov processes canbe extended to the multi-dimensional case in a straightforward manner. But
it does not seem easy to extend our stability result for the one-sector model
to a multi-sector model or a one-sector model with correlated shocks, particularly when, once again, consumption is not monotone in state variables.

Appendix A

Proof of Theorem 2.1

Lemma A.1. v : R+ → [−∞, ∞) is concave, continuous, and strictly increasing.20
Proof. We show first that v is strictly increasing. Let y, ŷ ∈ R+ with y < ŷ.
Suppose y = 0. If v(0) = −∞, then v(ŷ) > v(y) by Assumption 2.5. If
19

Note that the function V constructed in the proof of Theorem 3.1 consists of two
monotone functions. Some of our arguments rely on the monotonicity of those functions.
The monotonicity of one of them rests on the monotonicity of c(·).
20This lemma would be trivial if the existence of an optimal process from any initial
output were known at this point.

15

v(0) > −∞, thenv(ŷ) ≥ u(ŷ) + β

u(0)
u(0)
>
= v(0).
1−β
1−β

(A.1)

i
Now suppose y > 0.PLet {{cit , kt+1}}i∈N be a sequence of feasible processes∞tifrom y such that E t=0 β u(ct ) ↑ v(y) as i ↑ ∞. Taking a subsequence ifnecessary, we may assume ci0 → c0 ∈ [0, y]. Since Assumptions 2.4 and 2.5
imply u(c0 ) > −∞, we may also assume u(ci0 ) > −∞ for all i ∈ N. Fori ∈ N, we havev(ŷ) ≥ u(ci0 + ŷ − y) + E∞
X

β t u(cit )

(A.2)

t=1

= u(ci0 + ŷ − y) − u(ci0 ) + E∞
X

β t u(cit ).

(A.3)v(ŷ) ≥ u(c0 + ŷ − y) − u(c0 ) + v(y) > v(y).

(A.4)

t=0

Applying limi↑∞ yields

Thus v is strictly increasing.
i
To show the concavity of v, let y, ŷ ∈ R+ . Let {{cit , kt+1}}i∈N be as above,iiand define {{ĉt , k̂t+1 }}i∈N similarly. Let λ ∈ [0, 1]. For t ∈ Z+ and i ∈ N,
define k̃ti = λkti + (1 − λ)k̂ti and c̃it = f (k̃ti , zt ) − k̃t+1 . By concavity of f (·, z),iλcit + (1 − λ)ĉit ≤ c̃it . Thus {c̃it , k̃t+1} is feasible from λy + (1 − λ)ŷ. We haveλE∞X

β t u(cit ) + (1 − λ)E

t=0
∞
X

=E

≤E

t=0
∞
X

∞
X

β t u(ĉit )

(A.5)

t=0

β t [λu(cit ) + (1 − λ)u(ĉit )](A.6)

β t u(c̃it )

(A.7)

t=0

≤ v(λy + (1 − λ)ŷ).

(A.8)

Applying limi↑∞ to (A.5) yields
λv(y) + (1 − λ)v(ŷ) ≤ v(λy + (1 − λ)ŷ),
16

(A.9)

i.e., v is concave.
Since v is finite on R++ and concave, it is continuous except at zero. To
see continuity at zero, it suffices to notice that as y ↓ 0,v(y) ≤ E∞Xt

β u(ct (y)) ↓ E∞
X

β t u(0) = v(0),(A.10)

t=0

t=0

where the convergence holds by the monotone convergence theorem.
Lemma A.2. Let y ≥ 0, and {ct , kt+1 } be a feasible process from y. ThenE∞
X

β i u(c1+i ) ≤ Ev(f (k1 , z1 )).21(A.11)

i=0

Proof. Since {ct } is adapted to the filtration generated by {zt }∞t=1 , there isa Borel function st : Rt+ → R+ such that ct = st (z1 , . . . , zt ) for t ∈ N (e.g.,
Chow and Teicher, 1997, p. 17). Let ζ ∈ R+ be a realization value of therandom variable z. Define {c̃t (ζ)}∞
t=0 by∀t ∈ Z+ ,c̃t (ζ) = st+1 (ζ, z1 , . . . , zt ).

(A.12)

Then it is easy to see that {c̃t (ζ)} is feasible from f (k1 , ζ). ThusE∞X

β t u(st+1 (ζ, z1 , . . . , zt )) ≤ v(f (k1 , ζ)).

(A.13)

t=0

Because {zt } is i.i.d., it follows thatE∞X{zt }∞
t=2

β t u(st+1 (ζ, z2 , . . . , zt+1 )) ≤ v(f (k1 , ζ)),(A.14)

t=0

where E{zt }∞is the expectation with respect to {zt }∞t=2 . Replacing ζ with
t=2
z1 and applying Ez1 yields (A.11).
Lemma A.3. For any feasible output process {yt }∞t=1 from y0 > 0,∀t ∈ N,Ev(yt ) ≤ E∞
X

β i u(ct+i (y0 ))+ < ∞,(A.15)

i=0t

lim β Ev(yt ) ≤ 0.
t↑∞

21

(A.16)

This may appear obvious if one thinks that {ct }∞t=1 is feasible from f (k1 , z1 ). Though
this is true in some sense, notice that our definition of feasibility does not require any
recursive structure.

17

Proof. Since ct (y0 ) is the maximum possible output in period t ∈ N, it iseasy to see that22
Ev(yt ) ≤ Ev(ct (y0 ))∞X≤E
β i u(ct+i (y0 ))
≤E

i=0
∞
X

(A.17)(A.18)

β i u(ct+i (y0 ))+ < ∞,(A.19)

i=0

where the last inequality holds by Assumption 2.4. Hence (A.15) holds. This
together with Assumption 2.4 implies (A.16).
By (2.11) and Lemma A.2, for y ≥ 0,
(

∞
X

)
β i u(c1+i )(A.20)≤ sup{u(y − k1 ) + βEv(f (k1 , z1 ))},

(A.21)

v(y) = sup u(y − k1 ) + βE

i=0where the suprema are taken over all feasible processes {ct , kt+1 } from y. Forx, y ≥ 0, define
w(x, y) = u(y − x) + βEv(f (x, z)).
(A.22)
It follows from (A.20)–(A.22) that∀y ≥ 0,v(y) ≤ sup w(x, y).

(A.23)

x∈[0,y]The equality version of this is the Bellman equation, which is to be verified
below. For x ≥ 0, defineb(x) = Ev(f (x, z)).

(A.24)

Lemma A.4. ∀x > 0, −∞ < b(x) < ∞, and b : R+ → [−∞, ∞) is concaveand continuous, satisfying(A.25)
b0+ (0) = ∞,where b0+ denotes the right derivative of b (which exists everywhere by concavity).
22

To be perfectly rigorous, (A.18) requires an argument similar to the proof of Lemma
A.2.

18

Proof. Let x > 0. Let y ∈ (0, x]. By Assumption 2.5 and (A.23), there isx0 ∈ [0, y] such that w(x0 , y) > −∞. Hence −∞ < b(x0 ) ≤ b(x).
To see b(x) < ∞, suppose b(x) = ∞. Let y > x. Let {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 } bea feasible process from y with k1 = x. Then ∞ = b(x) = Ev(f (k1 , z1 )) =Ev(y1 ), contradicting (A.15).
Since v and f (·, z) are concave and increasing, so is b. Thus b is continuous
except at zero. But continuity at zero follows by the monotone convergence
theorem and Lemma A.1, so b is continuous.
It remains to verify (A.25). This is trivial if b(0) = −∞. Suppose b(0) >−∞. In this case, we may assume u(0) = v(0) = 0 without loss of generality.
For x > 0, we haveb(x) − b(0)Ev(f (x, z))=xx
Eu(f (x, z))≥x0≥ Eu (f (x, z))f1 (x, z) ↑ ∞ as x ↓ 0,

(A.26)(A.27)(A.28)

where the convergence holds by the monotone convergence theorem, (2.6),and (2.7). Now (A.25) follows.
Lemma A.5. ∀y > 0, there exists a unique x∗ with w(x∗ , y) = supx∈[0,y] w(x, y);furthermore, x∗ ∈ (0, y).
Proof. Let y > 0. By Lemma A.4, w(·, y) : [0, y] → [−∞, ∞) is continuous.
Thus there is x∗ ∈ [0, y] such that w(x∗ , y) = supx∈[0,y] w(x, y). It is uniquesince w(·, y) is strictly concave by Lemma A.4 and strict concavity of u. By
optimality of x∗ , w(x, y) ≤ w(x∗ , y) for x ∈ [0, y], i.e.,u(y − x) + βb(x) ≤ u(y − x∗ ) + βb(x∗ ).

∀x ∈ [0, y],(A.29)To see x∗ > 0, first suppose u(0) = −∞. By Lemma A.4, for x ∈(0, y), w(x, y) > −∞; thus x∗ > 0 since w(0, y) = −∞ < w(x, y). Now
suppose u(0) > −∞. If x∗ = y, then x∗ > 0, so suppose x∗ < y. Letx ∈ (x∗ , y). Then from (A.29),βu(y − x∗ ) − u(y − x)b(x) − b(x∗ )≤.
x − x∗x − x∗(A.30)

Letting x ↓ x∗ yields
βb0+ (x∗ ) ≤ u0 (y − x∗ ).
19(A.31)

Hence x∗ > 0 by (A.25).
It remains to verify x∗ < y. Let x ∈ (0, x∗ ). Again from (A.29),βb(x∗ ) − b(x)u(y − x) − u(y − x∗ )≥.
x∗ − xx∗ − x(A.32)

Letting x ↑ x∗ yields
βb0− (x∗ ) ≥ u0+ (y − x∗ ),(A.33)

where b0− denotes the left derivative of b. It follows by (2.6) that x∗ < y.
For y > 0, let k(y) = x∗ , where x∗ is given by Lemma A.5. Definek(0) = 0. By Lemma A.5 and (A.23),∀y ≥ 0,v(y) ≤ sup w(x, y) = u(c(y)) + βEv(f (k(y), z)).

(A.34)

x∈[0,y]where c(y) = y − k(y) (as defined in (2.14)). Note that (A.34) holds with
y = 0, in which case both sides equal u(0)/(1 − β).
Lemma A.6. k : R+ → R+ is continuous, and is the unique optimal policy
function. Furthermore, the Bellman equation (2.12) and (2.13) hold.
Proof. Continuity follows from the maximum theorem since w is continuous
by Lemma A.4 and k is a function rather than a correspondence. Lemma
A.5 implies (2.13).
Let y0 ≥ 0, and {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 } be the process generated by k (or, more
precisely, by (2.8) with k replacing π). Fix t ∈ N for the moment. By (A.34),v(yt ) ≤ u(ct ) + βEzt+1 v(f (k(yt ), zt+1 )).

(A.35)

Recalling yt+1 = f (k(yt ), zt+1 ) and ct = c(yt ), applying Eyt , we get
Ev(yt ) ≤ Eu(ct ) + βEv(yt+1 ).

20(A.36)

By repeated application of (A.36),v(y0 ) ≤ u(c0 ) + βEv(y1 )≤ u(c0 ) + βEu(c1 ) + β 2 Ev(y2 )
..
.
≤

T
X

(A.37)(A.38)

β t Eu(ct ) + β T +1 Ev(yT +1 )(A.39)

β t Eu(ct ) + lim β T +1 Ev(yT +1 )(A.40)

t=0

≤

∞
X

T ↑∞

t=0

≤E

∞
X

β t u(ct ),(A.41)

t=0

where the last inequality holds by (2.10) and (A.16). It follows thatv(y0 ) ≤ E∞
X

β t u(ct ).

(A.42)

t=0

Thus {ct , kt+1 , yt+1 } is optimal. Since it is feasible, the reverse inequality
also holds, so (A.42) holds with equality. Hence (A.37), as well as (A.38)–(A.41), holds with equality, i.e., v(y0 ) = u(c(y0 )) + βEv(f (k(y0 ), z). Since
y0 is arbitrary, the inequality in (A.34) holds with equality, i.e., the Bellman
equation (2.12) holds.
Since (A.37)–(A.41) hold for any y0 ≥ 0, k is an optimal policy function.
For uniqueness, let k̃ be a feasible policy function with k̃(y0 ) 6= k(y0 ) forsome y0 > 0. Let {c̃t , k̃t+1 , ỹt+1 } be the process generated by k̃ from y0 . By
the Bellman equation (2.12) and the argument leading to (A.36),∀t ∈ Z+ ,Ev(ỹt ) ≥ Eu(c̃t ) + βEv(ỹt+1 ).

(A.43)

Hence all the inequalities in (A.37)–(A.41) are reversed (with c̃t and ỹt replacing ct and yt ), and the reversedof (A.37) holds strictly by Lemma
Pversion∞
A.5 since k̃(y0 ) 6= k(y0 ). Thus E t=0 βu(c̃t ) < v(y0 ), i.e., k̃ is not optimal.
It follows that k is the unique optimal policy function.
Lemma A.7. v is continuously differentiable on R++ , and the Euler equation(2.15) holds.
21

Proof. It suffices to show that b as defined in (A.24) is differentiable on R++
and∀x > 0, b0 (x) = Eu0 (c(f (x, z)))f1 (x, z).
(A.44)For then the Euler equation (2.15) is simply the first order condition for the
maximization problem on the right-hand side of (2.12).
To verify (A.44), applying the envelope theorem (e.g., Milgrom and Segal, 2002, Corollary 3) to the Bellman equation (2.12), we find that v isdifferentiable on R++ and∀y > 0,v 0 (y) = u0 (c(y)).

(A.45)

Thus v is differentiable on R++ . Since k is continuous by Lemma A.6, so is
c as well as v 0 .
Let x > 0. Recalling Lemma A.4, we see that for h > 0,v(f (x + h, z)) − v(f (x, z))b(x + h) − b(x)
=E
.
h
h

(A.46)

By concavity, [v(f (x + h, z)) − v(f (x, z))]/h increases as h decreases. Thusby the monotone convergence theorem, (A.45), and the chain rule,b0+ (x) = Eu0 (c(f (x, z)))f1 (x, z).

(A.47)

Let h ∈ (0, x). For h ∈ (0, h],b(x) − b(x − h)v(f (x, z)) − v(f (x − h, z))=Ehhv(f (x, z)) − v(f (x − h, z))
< ∞,
≤E
h

(A.48)(A.49)

where the first inequality holds since [v(f (x, z)) − v(f (x − h, z))]/h decreases
as h decreases. Thus b0− (x) equals the right-hand side of (A.47) again by
the monotone convergence theorem, (A.45), and the chain rule. Now (A.44)
follows.
Lemma A.8. v is strictly concave, and k and c are strictly increasing.23
23

This is a well known result in the case that f (·, z) is strictly concave (e.g., Brock andMirman, 1972, Lemma 1.1). Note that f (·, z) is only assumed to be concave here.

22

Proof. Let y ≥ 0 and ŷ > y. If y = 0, then k(y) < k(ŷ) by Lemma A.5.
Suppose y > 0. If k(y) = k(ŷ), then by the Euler equation (2.15), u0 (y −k(y)) = u0 (ŷ − k(y)), a contradiction. Hence k is strictly increasing.
It follows from (A.45) and concavity of v that c is increasing. To conclude
that c is strictly increasing, it suffices to show that v is strictly concave. Lety, ŷ ≥ 0 with y 6= ŷ. Then (A.5)–(A.8) hold even if {cit } and {ĉit } are
optimal consumption processes from y and ŷ. Since v is strictly increasing,
P (cit 6= ĉit ) > 0 for some t ∈ Z+ . Thus by strict concavity of u and Jensen’s
inequality, (A.7) holds strictly. It follows that v is strictly concave.
Now Lemmas A.1 and A.6–A.8 establish Theorem 2.1.

Appendix B
B.1

Proofs of Section 3 Results

Proof of Lemma 3.1

Since V (0) = ∞, by (3.16),∀y > 0,P (m(y, z) = 0) = 0.

(B.1)

Hence (3.11) holds, so we may restrict the state space of {yt } to R++ provided
y0 > 0. Let y0 > 0. By (3.16), Ezt+1 [V (m(yt , zt+1 ))] ≤ λV (yt ) + α for t ∈ Z+ .
Applying Eyt , we get
EV (yt+1 ) ≤ λEV (yt ) + α≤ λt+1 V (y0 ) + (1 + λ + · · · + λt )α,

(B.2)
(B.3)

where the second inequality holds for t ≥ 1. It follows that limt↑∞ EV (yt ) ≤α/(1 − λ). Since the Markov process (3.2) has the Feller property by Stokey
and Lucas (1989, Exercise 8.10), the conclusion follows by Meyn and Tweedie(1996, Proposition 12.1.3).

B.2

Proof of Theorem 3.1

Lemma B.1. Let ζ be a positive random variable such that∃r̂ > 0,Eζ r̂ < ∞.

23

(B.4)

Then
1

E ln ζ ≤ ln[Eζ r ] r ,∀r ∈ (0, r̂],

(B.5)

1
r

lim ln[Eζ r ] = E ln ζ.

(B.6)

r↓0

Proof. See Hardy et al. (1952, pp. 137–139).
Lemma B.2. There exist r, ỹ > 0 such that1[E{βf1 (k(ỹ), z)}−r ] r < 1.

(B.7)

Proof. Let r̃, x̃ > 0 be as in Assumption 3.4. By concavity,∀x ∈ (0, x̃],

Ef1 (x, z)−r̃ < ∞.

(B.8)

By Assumption 3.5, there is ỹ > 0 such that(i) E ln[βf1 (k(ỹ), z)] > 0,(ii) k(ỹ) ≤ x̃.

(B.9)

By (B.9)(ii), (B.8), and Lemma B.1 with x = [βf1 (k(ỹ), z))]−1 ,1

lim ln[E{βf1 (k(ỹ), z)}−r ] r = −E ln{βf1 (k(ỹ), z)} < 0,r↓0

(B.10)

where the inequality holds by (B.9)(i). It follows that for small enough1
r > 0, ln[E{βf1 (k(ỹ), z)}−r ] r < 0, which is equivalent to (B.7).
Lemma B.3. Let r, ỹ > 0 satisfy (B.7). For y > 0, definer

w1 (y) = u0 (c(y)) 1+r .

(B.11)

Then there exist λ1 ∈ (0, 1) and α1 > 0 such that∀y > 0,Ew1 (f (k(y), z)) ≤ λ1 w1 (y) + α1 .

(B.12)

Proof. Let p = (1 + r)/r and q = 1 + r. Note that(i) p, q ∈ (1, ∞),

(ii)

1 1
+ = 1,
p q

(iii)

q
= r.
p

(B.13)By (B.7),
1 1

λ1 ≡ [E{βf1 (k(ỹ), z)}−r ] r p < 1,∀y ∈ (0, ỹ],[E{βf1 (k(y), z)}−r ]
24

1 1
r p

≤ λ1 ,(B.14)(B.15)

where the second inequality holds since f1 (·, z) is decreasing and k is increasing.
For y ∈ (0, ỹ] and c0 = c(f (k(y), z)), by (B.15), the Euler equation (2.15),(B.13)(iii), and Hölder’s inequality,24
1

1 1

u0 (c(y)) p [E{βf1 (k(y), z)}−r ] r p(B.16)

1p= [E{βu0 (c0 )f1 (k(y), z)}] [E{βf1 (k(y), z)}
1
p

− p1

≥ E[{βu0 (c0 )f1 (k(y), z)} {βf1 (k(y), z)}

− pq

]

1
q

(B.17)
1p] = Eu0 (c0 ) .

(B.18)

Recalling the definition of w1 , by (B.16)–(B.18) and (B.15), we have∀y ∈ (0, ỹ],Ew1 (f (k(y), z)) ≤ λ1 w1 (y).

(B.19)

Since k and c are increasing,∀y ≥ ỹ,1

Ew1 (f (k(y), z)) = Eu0 (c(f (k(y), z))) p(B.20)

1p≤ Eu0 (c(f (k(ỹ), z))) ≡ α1 .

(B.21)

Now (B.12) follows from (B.19)–(B.21).
Lemma B.4. There exist λ2 ∈ (0, 1) and α2 > 0 such that∀y > 0,Ef (k(y), z) ≤ λ2 y + α2 .

(B.22)

Proof. By (3.9), concavity, and the monotone convergence theorem,
lim E

y↑∞

f (y, z)f (y, z)= E limy↑∞yy= E lim f1 (y, z) ≡ λ < 1,

(B.23)(B.24)y↑∞where the inequality holds by Assumption 3.3 and the monotone convergence
theorem. Let
λ2 ∈ (λ, 1).
(B.25)By (B.23) and (B.24), there is ŷ > 0 such that∀y ≥ ŷ,Ef (y, z)≤ λ2 .
y(B.26)
1

24

1

If p and q satisfy (B.13)(i) and (B.13)(ii), then E|ξη| ≤ (E|ξ|p ) p (E|η|q ) q for randomvariables ξ and η with E|ξ|p , E|η|q < ∞ (e.g., Dudley, 2002, p. 154). In our case, ξ =1
1{βu0 (c0 )f1 (k(y), z)} p and η = {βf1 (k(y), z)}− p .

25

Since k(y) ≤ y for all y ≥ 0, Ef (k(y), z) ≤ Ef (y, z). This together with
(B.26) shows∀y ≥ ŷ, Ef (k(y), z) ≤ λ2 y.
(B.27)
Since k is increasing,∀y ∈ (0, ŷ],Ef (k(y), z) ≤ Ef (k(ŷ), z) ≡ α2 .

(B.28)

Now (B.22) follows from (B.27) and (B.28).
To complete the proof of Theorem 3.1, define∀y > 0,V (y) = w1 (y) + y,

(B.29)

where w1 is given by (B.11). Define V (0) = ∞. Then (3.14) holds. Let
λ = max{λ1 , λ2 } and α = α1 + α2 . Then (3.15) and (3.16) follow from
(B.12) and (B.22). Since m as defined in (3.1) is continuous, an invariant
distribution exists by Lemma 3.1.

Appendix C
C.1

Proofs of Section 4 Results

Proof of Lemma 4.1

We apply Meyn and Tweedie (MT) (1996, Theorem 16.1.2) to show that theMarkov process (3.2), or interchangeably the operator T defined by (4.13),
is V -uniformly ergodic. This implies (4.20) by MT (Theorem 16.0.1). Henceby MT (Theorem 16.1.2), the lemma holds if T is ψ-irreducible and aperiodic
and if (V4) in MT (Chapter 15) holds with some petite set C ⊂ R++ andsome function Ṽ : R++ → [1, ∞).
R
ψ-Irreducibility: For any B ∈ B, the mapping y 7→ B q(y, y 0 )dy 0 is lower
semicontinuous by Fatou’s lemma and lower semicontinuity of q. Thus T
is a T-chain(MT, Chapter 6) by (4.16) and (4.17). For B ∈ B, defineR
ϕ(B) = 1A∩B (y)dy.25 Then by (4.19) and MT (Proposition 4.2.1(ii)), T
is ϕ-irreducible. By MT (Proposition 4.2.2), T is ψ-irreducible for somemaximal irreducibility measure ψ.
25

For W ∈ B, 1W (·) is the indicator function on W ; i.e., 1W (y) = 1 if y ∈ W and
1W (y) = 0 otherwise.

26

Aperiodicity: It suffices to show that T is strongly aperiodic (MT, Chapter
5). By (4.18) and lower semicontinuity of q, there is ² > 0 such that∀y, y 0 ∈ C ≡ [ỹ − ², ỹ + ²],q(y, y 0 ) > 0.

(C.1)

We verify that ν(C) > 0 and C is ν-small with ν defined below. Let θ =miny,y0 ∈C q(y, y 0 ) > 0. For B ⊂ B, defineZν(B) = θ 1B∩C (x)dx.
(C.2)
Then ν(C) = θR

1C (x)dx = 2θ² > 0. For y ∈ C and B ∈ B,ZZ
00q(y, y )dy ≥ q(y, y 0 )1B∩C (y 0 )dy 0
BZ≥ θ 1B∩C (y 0 )dy 0 = ν(B).

Hence C is ν-small. It follows that T is strongly aperiodic.
(V4): DefineṼ = V + 1, α̃ = α + (1 − λ).

(C.3)
(C.4)

(C.5)

Then (3.15) and (3.16) still hold with Ṽ and α̃ replacing V and α, andṼ : R++ → [1, ∞).26 Let η = (1 − λ)/2. Let
C̃ = {y > 0 | Ṽ (y) ≤ α̃/η}.

(C.6)

By (3.15), C̃ is bounded and bounded away from zero. Hence there is acompact interval C ⊂ R++ with C̃ ⊂ C (C here is different from C in (C.1)).
Since T is a T-chain, C is petite by MT (Theorem 6.2.5). From (3.16),
E[Ṽ (m(y, z))] − Ṽ (y) ≤ −(1 − λ)Ṽ (y) + α̃
= −η Ṽ (y) + α̃ − η Ṽ (y)(C.8)≤ −η Ṽ (y) + α̃1C (y).

(C.9)

Hence (V4) in MT (Chapter 15) holds with the petite set C.
26

(C.7)

The following argument is adapted from MT (Lemma 15.2.8).

27

C.2

Proof of Theorem 4.1

Let γ > 0. Define q : R2++ → R+ by
q(y, y 0 ) =

½

min


φ(ζ(y, y 0 )),γ
f2 (k(y), ζ(y, y 0 ))0¾
if y 0 ∈ (h(y), h(y)),(C.10)

otherwise,

where φ is given by Assumption 4.1. Note that for y, y 0 > 0,q(y, y 0 ) > 0 ⇔ q(y, y 0 ) > 0 ⇔ y 0 ∈ (h(y), h(y)).

(C.11)

It is easy to see thatq is continuous and satisfies (4.16) and (4.17).
Let L1 be the set of Borel functions g : R++ → R+ with
Define T : L1 → L1 byZ
00∀y > 0, (T g)(y ) = q(y, y 0 )g(y)dy.

(C.12)
Rg(y)dy < ∞.

(C.13)

Note from (4.16) and (C.12) that∀g ∈ L1 ,T g ≤ T g.

(C.14)

Lemma C.1. ∀g ∈ L1 , T g is continuous.
Proof. Fix y 0 > 0. For ² ∈ R with y 0 + ² > 0, we haveZ00|(T g)(y + ²) − (T g)(y )| ≤ |q(y, y 0 + ²) − q(y, y 0 )|g(y)dy.

(C.15)By (C.10), |q(y, y 0 + ²) − q(y, y 0 )|g(y) ≤ γg(y). Since g is integrable and q iscontinuous, applying the dominated convergence theorem to (C.15) yields
lim |(T g)(y 0 + ²) − (T g)(y 0 )|²→0Z
≤ lim |q(y, y 0 + ²) − q(y, y 0 )|g(y)dy = 0.
²→0Hence T g is continuous.
28(C.16)(C.17)

Lemma C.2. ∀g ∈ D, there exist a, b > 0 with a < b such that (a, b) ⊂S(T g).
Proof. Since T g ∈ D, there is y 0 > 0 such that (T g)(y 0 ) > 0. By (C.11),(T g)(y 0 ) > 0. Since T g is continuous by Lemma C.1, T g > 0 on some open
interval (a, b) ⊂ R++ containing y 0 . Hence (a, b) ∈ S(T g) by (C.14).
Note from Assumption 4.2 thatz=∞⇒∀y > 0, h(y) = ∞.

(C.18)

If z = ∞, we extend the domain of h to (0, ∞] by definingz=∞⇒h(∞) = ∞.

(C.19)

Lemma C.3. Let g ∈ D, a ≥ 0, and b ∈ (a, ∞]. Then(i) (a, b) ⊂ S(g)⇒(ii) (h(a), h(b)) ⊂ S(T g).

(C.20)

Proof. Assume (i). Let y 0 ∈ (h(a), h(b)). Since h and h are continuous andincreasing,(h(a), h(b)) = ∪y∈(a,b) (h(y), h(y)).
(C.21)
Hence there is ỹ ∈ (a, b) with y 0 ∈ (h(ỹ), h(ỹ)). By (C.11), q(ỹ, y 0 ) > 0.
By continuity, there is a nonempty open interval (ã, b̃) ⊂ (a, b) such thatq(y, y 0 ) > 0 for y ∈ (ã, b̃). We have q(y, y 0 )g(y) > 0 for y ∈ (ã, b̃) ⊂ (a, b), so
0

0

Z b̃

(T g)(y ) ≥ (T g)(y ) ≥q(y, y 0 )g(y)dy > 0.

(C.22)ã

Hence y 0 ∈ S(T g).
Lemma C.4. Let y > 0. (i) If βEf1 (k(y), z) ≥ 1, then h(y) > y. (ii) If
βEf1 (k(y), z) ≤ 1, then h(y) < y.
Proof. To see (i), suppose h(y) ≤ y. Recall the Euler equation (2.15):
u0 (c(y)) = βE[u0 (c(f (k(y), z)))f1 (k(y), z)]> βE[u0 (c(y))f1 (k(y), z)],(C.23)(C.24)

where the inequality holds since f (k(y), z) < h(y) ≤ y with probability 1.
It follows that 1 > βEf1 (k(y), z). This establishes (i). The proof of (ii) issimilar.
29

Lemma C.5. (i) For sufficiently small y > 0, h(y) > y. (ii) For sufficiently
large y > 0, h(y) < y.
Proof. Part (ii) is immediate from Lemma C.4(ii) and Assumption 3.3. To
see (i), note from Assumption 3.5 that E ln[βf1 (k(y), z)] > 0 for small enoughy > 0. For such y, by Jensen’s inequality,
0 < E ln[βf1 (k(y), z)] ≤ ln E[βf1 (k(y), z)].

(C.25)

Hence βEf1 (k(y), z) > 1, so h(y) > y by Lemma C.4(i).
Definey = max{y ≥ 0 | y = h(y)},(min{y > 0 | y = h(y)} if ∃y > 0, y = h(y),y=∞otherwise.

(C.26)(C.27)

By Lemma C.5,
y < ∞,

y > 0.

(C.28)

Lemma C.6. y < y.
Proof. By (C.28), y < y if y = 0 or y = ∞. Suppose y > 0 and y < ∞.27
Since f (k(y), z) > y and f (k(y), z) < y with probability 1, from the Euler
equation (2.15),
u0 (c(y)) < βE[u0 (c(y))f1 (k(y), z)],0(C.29)0u (c(y)) > βE[u (c(y))f1 (k(y), z)].

(C.30)

βEf1 (k(y), z) < 1 < βEf1 (k(y), z).

(C.31)

Hence
Thus y < y again.
Lemma C.7. There exist ã, b̃ > 0 with ã < b̃ such that A ≡ (ã, b̃) satisfies(4.19).
27

The following argument is a simplified version of that of Brock and Mirman (1972,
Lemma 3.4).

30

Proof. Let ã, b̃ > 0 be such that y < ã < b̃ < y. Let A = (ã, b̃). Let y0 > 0,
and gt = gty0 for t ∈ N for simplicity. Since g1 ∈ D, by Lemma C.2 there is an
open interval (a2 , b2 ) ⊂ S(g2 ) = S(T g1 ). For t ≥ 2, define at+1 = h(at ) andbt+1 = h(bt ). By Lemma C.5(ii), lim supt↑∞ at < ∞. Since h is continuous
and increasing, limt↑∞ at ≤ y. By Lemma C.5(i), lim inf t↑∞ bt > 0. If z < ∞,since h is continuous and increasing, limt↑∞ bt ≥ y. This inequality is trivial ifz = ∞, in which case y = ∞ and bt = ∞ for t ≥ 2. It follows that A ⊂ S(gt )for t large enough, which implies (4.19).
Let us now complete the proof of Theorem 4.1 by applying Lemma 4.1.
Hypothesis (i) follows from the proof of Theorem 3.1; see (B.29). Equation(4.9) is a property of the model, so (ii) holds. Let ỹ ∈ (y, y). Then h(ỹ) <ỹ < h(ỹ), so q(ỹ, ỹ) > 0 by (C.11). This and (C.12) show (iii). Hypothesis(iv) is immediate from Lemma C.7. Now Theorem 4.1 follows from Lemma
4.1.

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