Lee Tyrrell-Hendry

Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics, University of Oxford

PhD Candidate in Economics, University of Edinburgh

About me

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford, and a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh. I am also on the job market in 2023.

Research interests:
My research lies in the intersection of macroeconomics, finance and policy. I am particularly interested in understanding the effects of heterogeneity and financial frictions on the macroeconomy and on welfare, and the implications for policy.

View my CV or read about my research

Contact:
Lee.T.Hendry@gmail.com or L.Tyrrell-Hendry@sms.ed.ac.uk

Address:
4.12, 30 Buccleuch Place
School of Economics
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, EH8 9JT

Research

Job market paper:

LTH - Global Imbalances & Fiscal Space - Apr 2022.pdf

Abstract: What are the limits on how much a government can borrow when the real interest rate on public debt is below the growth rate of the economy? I explore this question using a standard model of risky investment under incomplete markets, extended to feature emerging market (EM) economies with even greater risk, and limits to the private supply of safe assets. These two elements further inflate the bubble in public debt, affording developed market (DM) governments even greater fiscal space.

Working papers:

Abstract: How should governments calibrate the desire for redistribution via progressive taxation against the need to incentivise the accumulation of human capital? I explore this question in a heterogeneous agent model featuring stochastic human capital accumulation where agents choose an optimal number of years to study before starting work. The social welfare-maximising policy features generous subsidies for education and highly progressive labour taxes.


Abstract: I show that a standard incomplete markets model with labour income risk alone, when modelled accurately using a new method, can broadly match the distribution of wealth observed in the US and UK. Moreover, I show that increased labour income inequality and risk can account for around a third of the rise in the concentration of wealth among the top 1% in the US since the 1970s.