Skip to content

davidrpugh/pyeconomics

Repository files navigation

Computational-Economics

Code for a computational economics course I am teaching at the University of Edinburgh. This year's curriculum consists of...

The Solow Model:

A discrete time version of Robert Solow's classic 1956 article entitled: A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. In this lab students...

  • Explore some of the basic implications of the Cobb-Douglas production function using 3D graphics and contour plots.
  • Learn to write basic Python functions to code the key equations of the Solow model.
  • Solve for the steady state of the Solow model analytically and numerically.
  • Learn the basics of symbolic and numerical differentiation in order to assess the stability properties of the model's steady state.
  • Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and simulation using the Python class solowModel.
  • Analyze the response of the model to shocks to the key exogenous parameter model, the savings rate.

The Ramsey Model:

A discrete time version of Frank Ramsey's classic 1928 article entitled: A Mathematical Theory of Saving. In this lab students...

  • Explore some of the basic implications for inter-temporal optimization of the CRRA utility function using 3D graphics and contour plots.
  • Learn to write basic Python functions to code the key equations of the Ramsey model.
  • Solve for the steady state of the Ramsey model analytically and numerically.
  • More basics of symbolic and numerical differentiation in order to assess the stability properties of the model's steady state. Need to calculate the Jacobian and its eigenvalues/vectors!
  • More Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and simulation using the Python class ramseyModel.
  • Solve for a linear approximation to the optimal policy function for consumption.
  • Solve for the full non-linear optimal policy function for consumption using the forward-shooting algorithm.
  • Compare the linear approximation with the full non-linear optimal policy to discover how good the linear approximation actually is!
  • Some basic welfare analysis of the Ramsey model.
  • Finally, we consider the response of a Ramsey economy to a shock to the growth rate of technology.

A Real Business Cycles (RBC) model:

Basic RBC model from Chapter 5 of David Romer's Advanced Macroeconomics. In this lab students...

  • Explore some of the optimal trade-off between consumption and labor/leisure using 3D graphics and contour plots.
  • Explore some of the basic implications for inter-temporal optimization with two choice variables (i.e., consumption and labor supply!).
  • Solve for the steady-state of the RBC model numerically.
  • Solve for a linear approximation to the recursive equilibrium law of motion for the model using techniques from Uhlig (1997) implemented in the Python class RBC.
  • Generate and analyze impulse response functions and simulate data from the model to show that model correctly captures relative volatilities of investment, output, and consumption.

About

Computational economics in Python

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

No releases published

Packages

No packages published