This paper develops an equilibrium theory of expenditure inequality and price dispersion to study how retail prices respond to households' shopping behavior. The theory features incomplete markets, non-homothetic preferences, and equilibrium price dispersion for multiple varieties. Endogenous heterogeneity in the effort to search for prices shifts the price elasticity faced by retailers with the composition of demand. Retailers optimally charge higher margins for goods consumed by low-effort households. Predictions on the shape of price distributions are consistent with evidence from US scanner-data. Heterogeneity in search effort yields differences in prices paid for identical goods and reduces inequality in consumption relative to expenditure. The equilibrium response of posted prices across products doubles this direct effect of search on inequality. The model reconciles conflicting evidence on the cyclicality of retail markups and shows that the response of posted prices to a redistributive tax partially compensates net-contributors for their losses.

This paper provides novel evidence that the added worker effect – labor force entry upon spousal job loss – is substantially stronger for young than old households. Using a life cycle model of two-member households in a frictional labor market, we study whether this age-dependency is driven by heterogeneous needs for or availability of spousal insurance. Our framework endogenizes asset and human capital accumulation, as well as arrival rates of job offers, and is disciplined against U.S. micro data. By means of counterfactuals, we find a strong complementarity across both margins: A large added worker effect requires both high spousal earnings potential (human capital) relative to the primary earner and limited access to other means of self insurance (assets). Together, both margins can account for the observed age differential in the added worker effect. The model predicts substantial crowding out of spousal labor supply by unemployment benefit extensions among young households, in line with their stronger need for spousal insurance.

This paper examines the impact of banking sector losses on inequality in a quantitative model with income and portfolio heterogeneity among households and financial intermediation frictions. Consistent with U.S. data, the model predicts that low-income households are disproportionately affected. Their consumption declines significantly due to higher borrowing costs and labor income losses. High-income households are better insured through liquid assets. About 20% of them benefit from temporary asset price declines and higher future returns by adjusting their illiquid savings. These portfolio adjustments shape aggregate dynamics in the presence of financial frictions, by affecting the relative response of consumption and investment to aggregate shocks.