Part 1 Microfoundations of Macroeconomics
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Chapter 17: Consumption 1
11/6/2013 Keynes’s conjectures Chapter 17: Consumption 1. 0 < MPC < 1 2. Average propensity to consume (APC) falls as income rises. (APC = C/Y ) 3. Income is the main determinant of consumption. CHAPTER 17 Consumption 0 CHAPTER 17 Consumption 1 The Keynesian consumption function The Keynesian consumption function As income rises, consumers save a bigger C C fraction of their income, so APC falls. CCcY CCcY c c = MPC = slope of the 1 CC consumption APC c C function YY slope = APC Y Y CHAPTER 17 Consumption 2 CHAPTER 17 Consumption 3 Early empirical successes: Problems for the Results from early studies Keynesian consumption function . Households with higher incomes: . Based on the Keynesian consumption function, . consume more, MPC > 0 economists predicted that C would grow more . save more, MPC < 1 slowly than Y over time. save a larger fraction of their income, . This prediction did not come true: APC as Y . As incomes grew, APC did not fall, . Very strong correlation between income and and C grew at the same rate as income. consumption: . Simon Kuznets showed that C/Y was income seemed to be the main very stable in long time series data. determinant of consumption CHAPTER 17 Consumption 4 CHAPTER 17 Consumption 5 1 11/6/2013 The Consumption Puzzle Irving Fisher and Intertemporal Choice . The basis for much subsequent work on Consumption function consumption. C from long time series data (constant APC ) . Assumes consumer is forward-looking and chooses consumption for the present and future to maximize lifetime satisfaction. Consumption function . Consumer’s choices are subject to an from cross-sectional intertemporal budget constraint, household data a measure of the total resources available for (falling APC ) present and future consumption. -
Toward a Theory of Intertemporal Policy Choice Alan M. Jacobs
Democracy, Public Policy, and Timing: Toward a Theory of Intertemporal Policy Choice Alan M. Jacobs Department of Political Science University of British Columbia C472 – 1866 Main Mall Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z1 [email protected] DRAFT: DO NOT CITE Presented at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Political Science Association, June 3-5, 2004, at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. In the title to a 1950 book, Harold Lasswell provided what has become a classic definition of politics: “Who Gets What, When, How.”1 Lasswell’s definition is an invitation to study political life as a fundamental process of distribution, a struggle over the production and allocation of valued goods. It is striking how much of political analysis – particularly the study of what governments do – has assumed this distributive emphasis. It would be only a slight simplification to describe the fields of public policy, welfare state politics, and political economy as comprised largely of investigations of who gets or loses what, and how. Why and through what causal mechanisms, scholars have inquired, do governments take actions that benefit some groups and disadvantage others? Policy choice itself has been conceived of primarily as a decision about how to pay for, produce, and allocate socially valued outcomes. Yet, this massive and varied research agenda has almost completely ignored one part of Lasswell’s short definition. The matter of when – when the benefits and costs of policies arrive – seems somehow to have slipped the discipline’s collective mind. While we have developed subtle theoretical tools for explaining how governments impose costs and allocate goods at any given moment, we have devoted extraordinarily little attention to illuminating how they distribute benefits and burdens over time. -
ECON 302: Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (Fall 2014)
ECON 302: Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (Fall 2014) Discussion Section 2 September 19, 2014 SOME KEY CONCEPTS and REVIEW CHAPTER 3: Credit Market Intertemporal Decisions • Budget constraint for period (time) t P ct + bt = P yt + bt−1 (1 + R) Interpretation of P : note that the unit of the equation is dollar valued. The real value of one dollar is the amount of goods this one dollar can buy is 1=P that is, the real value of bond is bt=P , the real value of consumption is P ct=P = ct. Normalization: we sometimes normalize price P = 1, when there is no ination. • A side note for income yt: one may associate yt with `t since yt = f (`t) here that is, output is produced by labor. • Two-period model: assume household lives for two periods that is, there are t = 1; 2. Household is endowed with bond or debt b0 at the beginning of time t = 1. The lifetime income is given by (y1; y2). The decision variables are (c1; c2; b1; b2). Hence, we have two budget-constraint equations: P c1 + b1 = P y1 + b0 (1 + R) P c2 + b2 = P y2 + b1 (1 + R) Combining the two equations gives the intertemporal (lifetime) budget constraint: c y b (1 + R) b c + 2 = y + 2 + 0 − 2 1 1 + R 1 1 + R P P (1 + R) | {z } | {z } | {z } | {z } (a) (b) (c) (d) (a) is called real present value of lifetime consumption, (b) is real present value of lifetime income, (c) is real present value of endowment, and (d) is real present value of bequest. -
The Intertemporal Keynesian Cross
The Intertemporal Keynesian Cross Adrien Auclert Matthew Rognlie Ludwig Straub February 14, 2018 PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE,PLEASE DO NOT CIRCULATE Abstract This paper develops a novel approach to analyzing the transmission of shocks and policies in many existing macroeconomic models with nominal rigidities. Our approach is centered around a network representation of agents’ spending patterns: nodes are goods markets at different times, and flows between nodes are agents’ marginal propensities to spend income earned in one node on another one. Since, in general equilibrium, one agent’s spending is an- other agent’s income, equilibrium demand in each node is described by a recursive equation with a special structure, which we call the intertemporal Keynesian cross (IKC). Each solution to the IKC corresponds to an equilibrium of the model, and the direction of indeterminacy is given by the network’s eigenvector centrality measure. We use results from Markov chain potential theory to tightly characterize all solutions. In particular, we derive (a) a generalized Taylor principle to ensure bounded equilibrium determinacy; (b) how most shocks do not af- fect the net present value of aggregate spending in partial equilibrium and nevertheless do so in general equilibrium; (c) when heterogeneity matters for the aggregate effect of monetary and fiscal policy. We demonstrate the power of our approach in the context of a quantitative Bewley-Huggett-Aiyagari economy for fiscal and monetary policy. 1 Introduction One of the most important questions in macroeconomics is that of how shocks are propagated and amplified in general equilibrium. Recently, shocks that have received particular attention are those that affect households in heterogeneous ways—such as tax rebates, changes in monetary policy, falls in house prices, credit crunches, or increases in economic uncertainty or income in- equality. -
Intertemporal Choice and Competitive Equilibrium
Intertemporal Choice and Competitive Equilibrium Kirsten I.M. Rohde °c Kirsten I.M. Rohde, 2006 Published by Universitaire Pers Maastricht ISBN-10 90 5278 550 3 ISBN-13 978 90 5278 550 9 Printed in The Netherlands by Datawyse Maastricht Intertemporal Choice and Competitive Equilibrium PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Maastricht, op gezag van de Rector Magni¯cus, prof. mr. G.P.M.F. Mols volgens het besluit van het College van Decanen, in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 13 oktober 2006 om 14.00 uur door Kirsten Ingeborg Maria Rohde UMP UNIVERSITAIRE PERS MAASTRICHT Promotores: Prof. dr. P.J.J. Herings Prof. dr. P.P. Wakker Beoordelingscommissie: Prof. dr. H.J.M. Peters (voorzitter) Prof. dr. T. Hens (University of ZÄurich, Switzerland) Prof. dr. A.M. Riedl Contents Acknowledgments v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Intertemporal Choice . 2 1.2 Intertemporal Behavior . 4 1.3 General Equilibrium . 5 I Intertemporal Choice 9 2 Koopmans' Constant Discounting: A Simpli¯cation and an Ex- tension to Incorporate Economic Growth 11 2.1 Introduction . 11 2.2 The Result . 13 2.3 Related Literature . 18 2.4 Conclusion . 21 2.5 Appendix A. Proofs . 21 2.6 Appendix B. Example . 25 3 The Hyperbolic Factor: a Measure of Decreasing Impatience 27 3.1 Introduction . 27 3.2 The Hyperbolic Factor De¯ned . 30 3.3 The Hyperbolic Factor and Discounted Utility . 32 3.3.1 Constant Discounting . 33 3.3.2 Generalized Hyperbolic Discounting . 33 3.3.3 Harvey Discounting . 34 i Contents 3.3.4 Proportional Discounting . -
Intertemporal Consumption-Saving Problem in Discrete and Continuous Time
Chapter 9 The intertemporal consumption-saving problem in discrete and continuous time In the next two chapters we shall discuss and apply the continuous-time version of the basic representative agent model, the Ramsey model. As a prepa- ration for this, the present chapter gives an account of the transition from discrete time to continuous time analysis and of the application of optimal control theory to set up and solve the household’s consumption/saving problem in continuous time. There are many fields in economics where a setup in continuous time is prefer- able to one in discrete time. One reason is that continuous time formulations expose the important distinction in dynamic theory between stock and flows in a much clearer way. A second reason is that continuous time opens up for appli- cation of the mathematical apparatus of differential equations; this apparatus is more powerful than the corresponding apparatus of difference equations. Simi- larly, optimal control theory is more developed and potent in its continuous time version than in its discrete time version, considered in Chapter 8. In addition, many formulas in continuous time are simpler than the corresponding ones in discrete time (cf. the growth formulas in Appendix A). As a vehicle for comparing continuous time modeling with discrete time mod- eling we consider a standard household consumption/saving problem. How does the household assess the choice between consumption today and consumption in the future? In contrast to the preceding chapters we allow for an arbitrary num- ber of periods within the time horizon of the household. The period length may thus be much shorter than in the previous models. -
The Microeconomic Foundations of Aggregate Production Functions
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES THE MICROECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS OF AGGREGATE PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS David Baqaee Emmanuel Farhi Working Paper 25293 http://www.nber.org/papers/w25293 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 November 2018, Revised November 2019 We thank Maria Voronina for excellent research assistance. We thank Natalie Bau and Elhanan Helpman for useful conversations. This paper was written for the 2018 BBVA lecture of the European Economic Association. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2018 by David Baqaee and Emmanuel Farhi. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. The Microeconomic Foundations of Aggregate Production Functions David Baqaee and Emmanuel Farhi NBER Working Paper No. 25293 November 2018, Revised November 2019 JEL No. E0,E1,E25 ABSTRACT Aggregate production functions are reduced-form relationships that emerge endogenously from input-output interactions between heterogeneous producers and factors in general equilibrium. We provide a general methodology for analyzing such aggregate production functions by deriving their first- and second-order properties. Our aggregation formulas provide non- parameteric characterizations of the macro elasticities of substitution between factors and of the macro bias of technical change in terms of micro sufficient statistics. -
Reconstructing the Great Recession
Reconstructing the Great Recession Michele Boldrin, Carlos Garriga, Adrian Peralta-Alva, and Juan M. Sánchez This article uses dynamic equilibrium input-output models to evaluate the contribution of the con- struction sector to the Great Recession and the expansion preceding it. Through production inter- linkages and demand complementarities, shifts in housing demand can propagate to other economic sectors and generate a large and sustained aggregate cycle. According to our model, the housing boom (2002-07) fueled more than 60 percent and 25 percent of employment and GDP growth, respectively. The decline in the construction sector (2007-10) generates a drop in total employment and output about half of that observed in the data. In sharp contrast, ignoring interlinkages or demand comple- mentarities eliminates the contribution of the construction sector. (JEL E22, E32, O41) Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, Third Quarter 2020, 102(3), pp. 271-311. https://doi.org/10.20955/r.102.271-311 1 INTRODUCTION With the onset of the Great Recession, U.S. employment and gross domestic product (GDP) fell dramatically and then took a long time to return to their historical trends. There is still no consensus about what exactly made the recession so deep and the subsequent recovery so slow. In this article we evaluate the role played by the construction sector in driving the boom and bust of the U.S. economy during 2001-13. The construction sector represents around 5 percent of total employment, and its share of GDP is about 4.5 percent. Mechanically, the macroeconomic impact of a shock to the con- struction sector should be limited by these figures; we claim it is not. -
Microfoundations
TI 2006-041/1 Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper Microfoundations Maarten Janssen Department of Economics, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, and Tinbergen Institute. Tinbergen Institute The Tinbergen Institute is the institute for economic research of the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam Roetersstraat 31 1018 WB Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel.: +31(0)20 551 3500 Fax: +31(0)20 551 3555 Tinbergen Institute Rotterdam Burg. Oudlaan 50 3062 PA Rotterdam The Netherlands Tel.: +31(0)10 408 8900 Fax: +31(0)10 408 9031 Please send questions and/or remarks of non- scientific nature to [email protected]. Most TI discussion papers can be downloaded at http://www.tinbergen.nl. MICROFOUNDATIONS Maarten C.W. Janssen1 Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute Abstract. This paper gives an overview and evaluates the literature on Microfoundations. Key Words: Representative Agents, New Keynesian Economics, and New Classical Economics JEL code: B22, D40, E00 1 Correspondence Address: Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, Postbus 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands, e-mail: [email protected]. This paper is prepared as an entry for The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (3rd edition) that is currently being prepared. I thank the editors, Steven Durlauf and David Easley, for comments on an earlier version. 1 The quest to understand microfoundations is an effort to understand aggregate economic phenomena in terms of the behavior of -
Microfoundations?
MICROFOUNDATIONS? J.E King* Department of Economics and Finance La Trobe University Victoria 3086 Australia [email protected] September 2008 *Discussions with Peter Kriesler first set me thinking about this question; I am also grateful to Sheila Dow, Mike Howard, Tee-Hee Jo, Fred Lee, Ian MacDonald, Kurt Rothschild, Michael Schneider and Tony Thirlwall for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. None of them is implicated in errors of fact or judgement. 1 Abstract It is widely believed by both mainstream and heterodox economists that macroeconomic theory must be based on microfoundations (MIFs). I argue that this belief is unfounded and potentially dangerous. I first trace the origins of MIFs, which began in the late 1960s as a project and only later hardened into a dogma. Since the case for MIFs is derived from methodological individualism, which itself an offshoot of the doctrine of reductionism, I then consider some of the relevant literature from the philosophy of science on the case for and against reducing one body of knowledge to another, and briefly discuss the controversies over MIFs that have taken place in sociology, political science and history. Next I assess a number of arguments for the need to provide macrofoundations for microeconomics. While rejecting this metaphor, I suggest that social and philosophical foundations (SPIFs) are needed, for both microeconomics and macroeconomics. I conclude by rebutting the objection that ‘it’s only a word’, suggesting instead that foundational metaphors in economics are positively misleading and are therefore best avoided. Convergence with the mainstream on this issue has gone too far, and should be reversed. -
Paul Krugman Gets His ‘Nobel’
“A maximization-and-equilibrium kind of guy”: Paul Krugman gets his ‘Nobel’ Paper for the 11th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, on the theme “Heterodox Economics and Sustainable Development, 20 years on”, Kingston University, London, 9-12 July 2009 Hugh Goodacre Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster Affiliate Lecturer, Birkbeck College, University of London Teaching Fellow, University College London Abstract. Paul Krugman’s ‘new economic geography’ currently enjoys a high profile due to his recent Nobel award for contributions to the economics of geography and trade; it also conveniently focuses a number of wider issues regarding the relations of economics with its neighboring social science disciplines. Krugman describes himself as “ basically a maximization-and- equilibrium kind of guy…, quite fanatical about defending the relevance of standard economic models in many situations.” In contrast, the incumbent sub-discipline of economic geography has long played host to a zealous critique of such ‘standard’, that is, neoclassical models, and has fiercely defended its pluralistic traditions of research against the ‘monism’, or ‘economics imperialism’, of invasive initiatives such as Krugman’s. This paper surveys the lively polemical literature between these two very different kinds of guys on how to address the question of the global pattern of distribution of economic wealth and activity. It is argued that neither side in the interdisciplinary polemic has focussed sufficiently sharply on the political economy and intellectual and historical legacy of the colonial era. In conclusion, it is suggested that only by rectifying this shortcoming can the current inter- disciplinary standoff be shifted away from narrowly theoretical and methodological issues onto terrain where a more telling blow to economics imperialism can be made than the geographical critique has hitherto managed to deliver. -
Who's Afraid of John Maynard Keynes?
Who‘s Afraid of John Maynard Keynes? “Paul Davidson is the keeper of the Keynesian fame. Keynes lives (intellectu- ally), and Davidson is one of the reasons.” —Alan S. Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Afairs, Princeton University, USA Paul Davidson Who‘s Afraid of John Maynard Keynes? Challenging Economic Governance in an Age of Growing Inequality Paul Davidson Holly Chair of Excellence Emeritus University of Tennessee at Knoxville Knoxville, TN, USA ISBN 978-3-319-64503-2 ISBN 978-3-319-64504-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-64504-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017950681 © Te Editor(s) (if applicable) and Te Author(s) 2017 Tis work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Te use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Te publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.