102,336 research outputs found
Innovation, finance, and economic growth: an agent-based approach
No full textThis paper extends the endogenous growth agent-based model in Fagiolo and Dosi (Struct Change Econ Dyn 14(3):237–273, 2003) to study the finance–growth nexus. We explore industries where firms produce a homogeneous good using existing technologies, perform R&D activities to introduce new techniques, and imitate the most productive practices. Unlike the original model, we assume that both exploration and imitation require resources provided by banks, which pool agent savings and finance new projects via loans. We find that banking activity has a positive impact on growth. However, excessive financialization can hamper growth. Indeed, we find a significant and robust inverted U-shaped relation between financial depth and growth. Overall, our results stress the fundamental (and still poorly understood) role played by innovation in the finance–growth nexus
Premessa
No full textLa premessa mette in evidenza il ruolo centrale della famiglia ticinese dei Fontana dal Rinascimento al Barocco nelle maggiori corti europee
Studi sui Fontana: una dinastia di architetti ticinesi a Roma tra manierismo e barocco
No full textI testi hanno come elemento comune l'analisi dell'influenza che ha avuto la genealogia degli architetti Fontana nella cultura architettonica italiana ed europea tra Manierismo e Barocco
On the Scientific Status of Economic Policy: A Tale of Alternative Paradigms
No full textIn recent years, a number of contributions have argued that monetary - and, more generally, economic-policy is finally becoming more of a science. According to these authors, policy rules implemented by central banks are nowadays well supported by a theoretical framework (the New Neoclassical Synthesis) upon which a general consensus has emerged in the economic profession. In other words, scientific discussion on economic policy seems to be ultimately confined to either fine-tuning this "consensus" model, or assessing the extent to which "elements of art" still exist in the conduct of monetary policy. In this paper, we present a substantially opposite view, rooted in a critical discussion of the theoretical, empirical, and political-economy pitfalls of the neoclassical approach to policy analysis. Our discussion indicates that we are still far from building a science of economic policy. We suggest that a more fruitful research avenue to pursue is to explore alternative theoretical paradigms, which can escape the strong theoretical requirements of neoclassical models (e.g. equilibrium, rationality, etc.). We briefly introduce one of the most successful alternative research projects - known in the literature as agent-based computational economics (ACE) - and we present the way it has been applied to policy analysis issues. We conclude by discussing the methodological status of ACE, as well as the (many) problems it raises
Lumpy investment and endogenous business cycles in an evolutionary multi-agent model
No full textThis article presents an evolutionary model of output and investment dynamics yielding endogenous business cycles. The model describes an economy composed of firms and consumers/workers. Firms belong to two industries. The first one performs RD and produces heterogenous machine tools. Firms in the second industry invest in new machines and produce a homogenous consumption. Consumers sell their labor and fully consume their income. In line with the empirical literature on investment patterns, we assume that firms' investment decisions are lumpy and constrained by their financial structure. Simulation results show that the model is able to deliver self-sustaining patterns of growth characterized by the presence of endogenous business cycles. The model can also replicate the most important stylized facts concerning micro- and macro-economic dynamics
On the scientific status of economic policy: A tale of alternative paradigms
No full textIn the last years, a number of contributions has argued that monetary - and, more generally, economic - policy is finally becoming more of a science. According to these authors, policy rules implemented by central banks are nowadays well supported by a theoretical framework (the New Neoclassical Synthesis) upon which a general consensus has emerged in the economic profession. In other words, scientific discussion on economic policy seems to be ultimately confined to either fine-tuning this consensus model, or assessing the extent to which elements of art still exist in the conduct of monetary policy. In this paper, we present a substantially opposite view, rooted in a critical discussion of the theoretical, empirical and political-economy pitfalls of the neoclassical approach to policy analysis. Our discussion indicates that we are still far from building a science of economic policy. We suggest that a more fruitful research avenue to pursue is to explore alternative theoretical paradigms, which can escape the strong theoretical requirements of neoclassical models (e.g., equilibrium, rationality, etc.). We briefly introduce one of the most successful alternative research projects - known in the literature as agent-based computational economics (ACE) - and we present the way it has been applied to policy analysis issues. We conclude by discussing the methodological status of ACE, as well as the (many) problems it raises
The microfoundations of business cycles: an evolutionary, multi-agent model
No full textEvolutionary dynamics, Agent-based computational economics, Lumpy investment, Output fluctuations, Endogenous business cycles, C15, C22, C49, E17, E22, E32,
Macroeconomic Policy in DSGE and Agent-Based Models. WP Series University of Verona Department of Economics (ISSN 2036-2919), 07/2012
No full textThe Great Recession seems to be a natural experiment for macroeconomics showing the inadequacy of the predominant theoretical framework - the New Neoclassical Synthesis - grounded on the DSGE model. In this paper, we present a critical discussion of the theoretical, empirical and political-economy pitfalls of the DSGE-based approach to policy analysis. We suggest that a more fruitful research avenue to pursue is to explore alternative theoretical paradigms, which can escape the strong theoretical requirements of neoclassical models (e.g., equilibrium, rationality, representative agent, etc.). We briefly introduce one of the most successful alternative research projects - known in the literature as agent-based computational economics (ACE) - and we present the way it has been applied to policy analysis issues. We then provide a survey of agent-based models addressing macroeconomic policy issues. Finally, we conclude by discussing the methodological status of ACE, as well as the (many) problems it raise
Fat-tail distributions and business-cycle models
No full textAbstract
Recent empirical findings suggest that macroeconomic variables are seldom normally distributed. For example, the distributions of aggregate output growth-rate time series of many OECD countries are well approximated by symmetric exponential-power (EP) densities with Laplace fat tails. In this work, we assess whether real business cycle (RBC) and standard medium-scale New Keynesian (NK) models are able to replicate this statistical regularity. We simulate both models, drawing Gaussian- vs Laplace-distributed shocks, and we explore the statistical properties of simulated time series. Our results cast doubts on whether RBC and NK models are able to provide a satisfactory representation of the transmission mechanisms linking exogenous shocks to macroeconomic dynamics
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