Capital Accumulates. Lifetime Does Not: Institutional Constraints on Macroeconomic Stock Representation

This paper identifies a structural accounting asymmetry in modern macroeconomic systems. Capital is represented as a cumulative intergenerational stock, while cumulative lifetime does not acquire stock status. The analysis demonstrates that macroeconomic stock representation is institutionally constrained. Only variables satisfying detachment from biological identity and bearer substitutability under stable rule systems qualify for durable stock status. By formalizing these institutional admissibility conditions, the paper shows that state-variable status in macroeconomic systems depends on institutional persistence and dynamic continuity rather than purely analytical aggregation. This paper forms part of a broader research program on institutional constraints in macroeconomic representation.