Received January 1987, final version received June 1937 | Richard ROGERSON*
This paper examines an economy where labor is indivisible and agents are identical, exploring the implications of this non-convexity on aggregate behavior. The author demonstrates that while individual labor supply discontinuities disappear through aggregation, indivisible labor has significant effects on the economy's overall dynamics. Optimal allocations in such economies involve lotteries over employment and consumption. The paper also shows how these lotteries can be decentralized through markets and how they facilitate the computation of equilibria. The analysis is extended to stochastic environments, highlighting the computational challenges without lotteries. Finally, the paper discusses the implications for aggregate fluctuations, showing that non-convexities can explain the observed magnitudes of labor supply and real wage movements. The conclusion emphasizes that individual-level non-convexities can have substantial aggregate effects, even in economies with a large number of identical agents.This paper examines an economy where labor is indivisible and agents are identical, exploring the implications of this non-convexity on aggregate behavior. The author demonstrates that while individual labor supply discontinuities disappear through aggregation, indivisible labor has significant effects on the economy's overall dynamics. Optimal allocations in such economies involve lotteries over employment and consumption. The paper also shows how these lotteries can be decentralized through markets and how they facilitate the computation of equilibria. The analysis is extended to stochastic environments, highlighting the computational challenges without lotteries. Finally, the paper discusses the implications for aggregate fluctuations, showing that non-convexities can explain the observed magnitudes of labor supply and real wage movements. The conclusion emphasizes that individual-level non-convexities can have substantial aggregate effects, even in economies with a large number of identical agents.