Indeterminacy with No-Income-Effect Preferences and Sector-Specific Externalities

We examine a two-sector real business cycle model with sector-specific externalities in the production of distinct consumption and investment goods. In addition, the household utility is postulated to exhibit no income effect on the demand for leisure. Unlike in the one-sector counterpart, we show that equilibrium indeterminacy can result with sufficiently high returns-to-scale in the production of investment goods. We also find that the smaller the labor supply elasticity, the lower the threshold level of returns-to-scale needed for generating indeterminacy and sunspots. This finding turns out to be exactly the opposite of that in all existing RBC-based indeterminacy studies.Indeterminacy, Income Effect, Sector-Specific Externalities

Sunspot Fluctuations in Two-Sector Models with Variable Income Effects

We analyze a version of the Benhabib and Farmer [3] two-sector model with sector-specific externalities in which we consider a class of utility functions inspired from the one considered in Jaimovich and Rebelo [14] which is flexible enough to encompass varying degrees of income effect. First, we show that local indeterminacy and sunspot fluctuations occur in 2-sector models under plausible configurations regarding all structural parameters – in particular regarding the intensity of income effects. Second, we prove that there even exist some configurations for which local indeterminacy arises under any degree of income effect. More precisely, for any given size of income effect, we show that there is a non-empty range of values for the Frisch elasticity of labor and the elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption such that indeterminacy occurs. This contrasts with the results obtained in one-sector models in both Nishimura et al. [19], in which it is shown that indeterminacy cannot occur under either GHH and KPR preferences, and in Jaimovich [13] in which local indeterminacy only arises for intermediary income effects

Growth Cycles

We construct a rational expectations model in which aggregate growth alternates between a low growth and a high growth state. When all agents expect growth to be slow, the returns on investment are low, and little investment takes place. This slows growth and confirms the prediction that the returns on investment will be low. But if agents expect fast growth, investment is high, returns are high, and growth is rapid. This expectational indeterminacy is induced by complementarity between different types of capital goods. In a growth cycle there are stochastic shifts between high and low growth states and agents take full account of these transitions. The rules that agents need to form rational expectations in this equilibrium are simple. The equilibrium with growth cycles is stable under the dynamics implied by a correspondingly simple learning rule

Utility and Production Externalities, Equilibrium Efficiency and Leisure Specification

[Abstract] This paper analyzes the implications that the specification of the leisure activity has on the equilibrium efficiency in a two-sector endogenous growth model with human capital accumulation. We consider external effects of consumption and leisure in utility, and sector-specific externalities associated to physical and human capital in production. The optimal tax policy to correct for the distortions caused by the externalities is characterized under all the typical leisure specifications considered in the literature: home production, quality time and raw time. We show that the optimal policy depends markedly on the leisure specification

Dual Labor Market and Endogenous Fluctuations

International audienceWe study the influence of wage differential on the emergence of endogenous fluctuations. In this way, we introduce a dual labor market, based on the Shapiro-Stiglitz efficiency wage theory in an overlapping generations model. We show that wage inequality is a source of endogenous fluctuations. Indeed, a sufficiently strong wage differentialleads to the occurrence of cycles of period two and local indeterminacy. Moreover, in contrast to several existing contributions, these results depend neither on increasing returns to scale, nor on the degree of capital-labor substitution

A simple dynamic model of uneven development and overtaking

This paper extends the Brezis, Krugman and Tsiddon (1993) Ricardian leapfrogging model, allowing for a wider variety of development patterns. In a two-region two-sector economy localized leaming-by-doing causes specialization and uneven development. Technological change reverses the existing development pattern if the new technology locates in the lowwage region. However, in contrast to Brezis et al., the development pattern may also get reinforced if spillovers between the old and the new technology make the leading region a more attractive location. The results are not affected by including capital and extending the model to a two-factor Heckscher-Ohlin framework

Revisiting the economy by taking into account the different dimensions of well-being

In standard economic models benevolent governments are the unique actors in charge to tackle the problem of reconciling individual with social wellbeing in presence of negative externalities and insufficient provision of public goods. Some promising practices of grassroot economics suggest however that, even a minoritarian share of concerned individuals and socially responsible corporations which internalise externalities, significantly enhance the opportunities of promoting "sustainable happiness" harmonising creation of economic, social and environmental value.well-being; sustainable happiness; role; ethical and solidarity initiatives