In a set of articles published in 1979 and 1983, Suresh Sethi and various co-authors introduced a bankruptcy value/penalty in the consumption/investment model. They also introduced a nonzero subsistence consumption level, which makes the consideration of bankruptcy even more important. This provided the ability to deal mathematically with the problems of bankruptcy in the study of consumption and investment. This text provides a frame for deepening understanding of the consumption and portfolio selection behaviour of individuals and households.
I. Introduction.- 1. Consumption/Investment Problems.- II. Models with Constant Market Parameters and Nonnegative Consumption.- 2. Explicit Solution of a General Consumption/Investment Problem.- 3. A Note on Merton’s “Optimum Consumption and Portfolio Rules in a Continuous-time Model”.- 4. Infinite-Horizon Investment Consumption Model with a Nonterminal Bankruptcy.- 5. Risk-Aversion Behavior in Consumption/Investment Problems.- III: Models with Constant Market Parameters and Positive Subsistence Consumption.- 6. Explicit Solution of a General Consumption/Portfolio Problem with Subsistence Consumption and Bankruptcy.- 7. Distribution of Bankruptcy Time in a Consumption/Portfolio Problem.- 8. Risk-Aversion Behavior in Consumption/Investment Problems with Subsistence Consumption.- 9. Consumption Behavior in Investment/Consumption Problems.- 10. Equivalence of Objective Functionals in Infinite Horizon and Random Horizon Problems.- 11. A Contribution to the Micro Foundation for Keynesian Macroeconomic Models.- IV: Models with More General Markets and Positive Subsistence Consumption.- 12. The Consumption-Investment Problem with Subsistence Consumption, Bankruptcy, and Random Market Coefficients.- V: Models with Constant Market Parameters, Positive Subsistence Consumption and Borrowing/Shortselling Constraints.- 13. Optimal Dynamic Consumption and Portfolio Planning in a Welfare State.- 14. Optimal Consumption and Investment Policies Allowing Consumption Constraints, Bankruptcy and Welfare.- 15. A Martingale Formulation for Optimal Consumption/Investment Decision Making.- VI: Conclusions.- 16. Concluding Remarks and Open Research Problems.- Author Index.- Copyright Permissions.