Imperfect Knowledge Economics

Imperfect Knowledge Economics
Author: Roman Frydman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2023-09-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691261156

Posing a major challenge to economic orthodoxy, Imperfect Knowledge Economics asserts that exact models of purposeful human behavior are beyond the reach of economic analysis. Roman Frydman and Michael Goldberg argue that the longstanding empirical failures of conventional economic models stem from their futile efforts to make exact predictions about the consequences of rational, self-interested behavior. Such predictions, based on mechanistic models of human behavior, disregard the importance of individual creativity and unforeseeable sociopolitical change. Scientific though these explanations may appear, they usually fail to predict how markets behave. And, the authors contend, recent behavioral models of the market are no less mechanistic than their conventional counterparts: they aim to generate exact predictions of "irrational" human behavior. Frydman and Goldberg offer a long-overdue response to the shortcomings of conventional economic models. Drawing attention to the inherent limits of economists' knowledge, they introduce a new approach to economic analysis: Imperfect Knowledge Economics (IKE). IKE rejects exact quantitative predictions of individual decisions and market outcomes in favor of mathematical models that generate only qualitative predictions of economic change. Using the foreign exchange market as a testing ground for IKE, this book sheds new light on exchange-rate and risk-premium movements, which have confounded conventional models for decades. Offering a fresh way to think about markets and representing a potential turning point in economics, Imperfect Knowledge Economics will be essential reading for economists, policymakers, and professional investors.

Exploring General Equilibrium

Exploring General Equilibrium
Author: Fischer Black
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780262023825

The general equilibrium approach, Black asserts, can be used to explain most of the economy's behavior. It can explain business cycles and growth without using sticky prices, irrationality, economies of scale, or imperfect competition. It can explain the volatility of consumption, output, sales, investment, and inventories with axiomatic utility and constant-returns-to-scale production. It can explain temporary layoffs, job changes with and without intervening unemployment, and the behavior of vacancies. It can explain lower wages in part-time jobs, wages that increase rapidly with time on the job, and the forces that cause migration from poor to rich countries. Although the general equilibrium approach cannot be tested in conventional ways, it can be used to generate examples that explain stylized facts - generalized observations from the real world - that have preoccupied macroeconomists for the last decade. Black contrasts his interpretation of these facts with conventional views. Finally, he reviews a substantial body of literature on these topics.

Money, Interest, and Policy

Money, Interest, and Policy
Author: Jean-Pascal Bénassy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Equilibrium (Economics)
ISBN: 9780262524933

Develops the argument that moving from "Ricardian" dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models to "non-Ricardian" models solves many puzzles and paradoxes in monetary issues that might have cast doubt on the DSGE methodology for monetary economics.

General Equilibrium Analysis

General Equilibrium Analysis
Author: Pascal Bridel
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136719822

2010 marks the hundredth anniversary of the death of Léon Walras, the brilliant originator and first formaliser of general equilibrium theory – one of the pillars of modern economic theory. In advancing much derided practical solutions Walras also displayed more concern for the problems of living in a second best world than is common in modern pure theories of the invisible hand, efficient market hypothesis, DSGE macroeconomics or the thinking of some contemporary free market admirers all based on general equilibrium theory. This book brings contributions from the likes of Kenneth Arrow, Alan Kirman, Richard Posner, Amartya Sen and Robert Solow to share their thoughts and reflections on the theoretical heritage of Léon Walras. Some authors reminisce on the part they played in the development of modern general economics theory; others reflect on the crucial part played by general equilibrium in the development of macroeconomics, microeconomics, growth theory, welfare economics and the theory of justice; others still complain about the wrong path economic theory took under the influence of post 1945 developments in general equilibrium theory.

A General Equilibrium Model of Sovereign Default and Business Cycles

A General Equilibrium Model of Sovereign Default and Business Cycles
Author: Vivian Z. Yue
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1462330452

Emerging markets business cycle models treat default risk as part of an exogenous interest rate on working capital, while sovereign default models treat income fluctuations as an exogenous endowment process with ad-noc default costs. We propose instead a general equilibrium model of both sovereign default and business cycles. In the model, some imported inputs require working capital financing; default on public and private obligations occurs simultaneously. The model explains several features of cyclical dynamics around default triggers an efficiency loss as these inputs are replaced by imperfect substitutes; and default on public and private obligations occurs simultaneously. The model explains several features of cyclical dynamics around deraults, countercyclical spreads, high debt ratios, and key business cycle moments.

General Equilibrium Foundation of Partial Equilibrium Analysis

General Equilibrium Foundation of Partial Equilibrium Analysis
Author: Takashi Hayashi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2017-07-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3319566962

This book addresses the gaps in undergraduate teaching of partial equilibrium analysis, providing a general equilibrium viewpoint to illustrate the assumptions underlying partial equilibrium welfare analysis. It remains unexplained, at least at the level of general economics teaching, in what sense partial equilibrium analysis is indeed a part of general equilibrium analysis. Partial equilibrium welfare analysis isolates a market for a single commodity from the rest of the economy, presuming that other things remain equal, and measures gains and losses by means of consumer surplus. This is a money metric that is supposed to be summable across individuals, recommending policy that maximizes the social surplus. But what justifies such apparently uni-dimensional practise? Within a general equilibrium framework, the assumption of no income effect is presented as the key condition, and substantive general equilibrium situations in which the condition emerges are presented. The analysis is extended to the case of uncertainty, in which the practice adopts aggregate expected consumer surplus, and scrutinizes when such practice is justified. Finally, the book illustrates partial equilibrium as an institutional artifact, meaning that institutional constraint induces individuals to behave as if they are in partial equilibrium. This volume forms an important contribution to the literature by researching why this disparity persists and the implications for economics education.

Strategic Multilateral Exchange

Strategic Multilateral Exchange
Author: Jean Jaskold Gabszewicz
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2002-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781782543220

'To non-economists, it is hard to understand why economists spend so much effort on the competitive model whereas the world seems to be replete with large and powerful economic actors. In this respect, Jean Gabszewicz is atypical: he has spent most of his research time working on imperfectly competitive markets. However, instead of restricting himself to partial equilibrium analyses, he has tackled from the outset the problem of imperfect competition in a system of interrelated markets with the aim of studying how market power is spread throughout the whole system. This is one of the most challenging and fascinating tasks that economists face. But this is also a very hard one, and may explain why so few have tried. This book builds on the seminal contributions of Cournot and Edgeworth and does not intend to provide a full-fledged answer to the many questions raised by the general theory of imperfect competition. However, by presenting in a transparent way most of the problems that lie at the roots of imperfect competition in general equilibrium and by proposing various elegant solutions, it paves the way to any future research in the field. No doubt it will become a basic reference in the long run. The economics profession should thank Jean Gabszewicz for a fresh and daring way of looking at market power.' - Jacques Thisse, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, France Jean Gabszewicz's new book is devoted to the study of strategic multilateral exchange. Contrary to the classical competitive paradigm in which agents are assumed to behave as price takers, here traders are allowed to consciously behave as strategic agents who aim to influence trade to their own advantage. This is usually done in oligopoly theory using a partial equilibrium approach while in this case a system of interrelated markets is considered.