Bifurcation Routes to Volatility Clustering under Evolutionary Learning

A simple asset pricing model with two types of boundedly rational traders, fundamentalists and chartists, is studied. Fractions of trader types change over time according to evolutionary learning, with chartists conditioning their forecasting rule upon deviations from a benchmark fundamental. Volatility clustering arises endogenously and two generic mechanisms are proposed as an explanation: (1) coexistence of a stable steady state and a stable limit cycle, due to a so-called Chenciner bifurcation of the system and (2) intermittency and associated bifurcation routes to strange attractors. Economic intuition as to why these phenomena arise in nonlinear multi-agent evolutionary systems is provided

Why have asset price properties changed so little in 200 years

We first review empirical evidence that asset prices have had episodes of large fluctuations and been inefficient for at least 200 years. We briefly review recent theoretical results as well as the neurological basis of trend following and finally argue that these asset price properties can be attributed to two fundamental mechanisms that have not changed for many centuries: an innate preference for trend following and the collective tendency to exploit as much as possible detectable price arbitrage, which leads to destabilizing feedback loops.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

The Future of Agent-Based Modeling

In this paper, I elaborate on the role of agent-based (AB) modeling for macroeconomic research. My main tenet is that the full potential of the AB approach has not been realized yet. This potential lies in the modular nature of the models, which is bought by abandoning the straitjacket of rational expectations and embracing an evolutionary perspective. I envisage the foundation of a Modular Macroeconomic Science, where new models with heterogeneous interacting agents, endowed with partial information and limited computational ability, can be created by recombining and extending existing models in a unified computational framework