Indeterminacy and nonlinear dynamics in an OLG growth model with endogenous labour supply and inherited tastes

This study analyses the dynamics of a two-dimensional overlapping generations economy with endogenous labour supply à la Reichlin (1986) and aspirations, i.e. effective consumption by individuals of the current generation depends on the standard of living (based on consumption experience) of those that belong to the previous generation. We show that the relative importance of aspirations in utility is responsible for the existence of either one (normalised) steady state or two steady states. In particular, when the relative degree of aspiration is fairly high, the supply of labour becomes higher than those corresponding to the normalised steady state because individuals want to increase the amount of time spent at work when they are young in order to increase consumption possibilities when they are old, since the relative importance of past consumption is high in such a case. As regards local stability, the normalised steady state can be determinate or indeterminate and can undergo either a transcritical bifurcation or supercritical flip bifurcation depending on the intensity of the taste externality. Moreover, some interesting global dynamic properties emerge: indeed, when the relative importance of aspirations is strong enough, cyclical or quasi-cyclical behaviour and/or coexistence of attractors may occur. In particular, this last phenomena may cause global indeterminacy even if the stationary equilibria are locally determinate.Aspirations; Indeterminacy; Labour supply; OLG model; Nonlinear dynamics

Closed form solution for dynamic of sustainable tourism

The attention to environmental conditions of the planet drives many scientists to study and to analyze the externalities of the economic activities and their relapses on nature. The issue is quite complex because of the non-linear interactions between human and natural phenomena. Our intention is to study the particular case of tourist activities. Starting from the specification of the concept of sustainable development, using a simple model we characterize the conditions for which there exists an optimal equilibrium between nature and tourism. Then, trough several simulations we study which policies are able to guarantee the better synergies between economy and environmental quality.Policy, Sustainable Tourism

See you on Facebook: the effect of social networking on human interaction

This paper proposes an evolutionary framework to explore the dynamics of social interaction in an environment characterized by online networking and increasing pressure on time. The model shows how time pressure encourages the choice to develop social interactions also through online networking instead of relying exclusively on face to face encounters. Our findings suggest that the joint influence exerted by the reduction in leisure time and the new opportunities of participation offered by web-mediated communication may progressively lead a growing share of the population to adopt networking sites as an indispensable environment for the development of interpersonal relationships.internet, computer-mediated communication, social networking, online networks, Facebook, human interaction, social capital

Will growth and technology destroy social interaction? The inverted U-shape hypothesis

This paper addresses two hot topics of the contemporary debate, social capital and economic growth. Our theoretical analysis sheds light on decisive but so far neglected issues: how does social capital accumulate over time? Which is the relationship between social capital, technical progress and economic growth in the long run? The analysis shows that the economy may be attracted by alternative steady states, depending on the initial social capital endowments and cultural exogenous parameters representing the relevance of social interaction and trust in well-being and production. When material consumption and relational goods are substitutable, the choice to devote more and more time to private activities may lead the economy to a “social poverty trap”, where the cooling of human relations causes a progressive destruction of the entire stock of social capital. In this case, the relationship of social capital with technical progress is described by an inverted U-shaped curve. However, the possibility exists for the economy to follow a virtuous trajectory where the stock of social capital endogenously and unboundedly grows. Such result may follow from a range of particular conditions, under which the economy behaves as if there was no substitutability between relational activities and material consumption.Social capital; relational goods; happyness; economic growth.

Will growth and technology destroy social interaction? The inverted U-shape hypothesis

This paper addresses two hot topics of the contemporary debate, social capital and economic growth. Our theoretical analysis sheds light on decisive but so far neglected issues: how does social capital accumulate over time? Which is the relationship between social capital, technical progress and economic growth in the long run? The analysis shows that the economy may be attracted by alternative steady states, depending on the initial social capital endowments and cultural exogenous parameters representing the relevance of social interaction and trust in well-being and production. When material consumption and relational goods are substitutable, the choice to devote more and more time to private activities may lead the economy to a “social poverty trap”, where the cooling of human relations causes a progressive destruction of the entire stock of social capital. In this case, the relationship of social capital with technical progress is described by an inverted U-shaped curve. However, the possibility exists for the economy to follow a virtuous trajectory where the stock of social capital endogenously and unboundedly grows.Relational goods, social capital, economic growth, technical change

Economic Growth, Technological Progress, and Social Capital: The Inverted U Hypothesis

We set up a theoretical framework to analyze the possible role of economic growth and technological progress in the erosion of social capital. Under certain parameters, the relationship between technological progress and social capital can take the shape of an inverted U curve. We show the circumstances allowing the economy to follow trajectories where the stock of social capital grows endogenously and unboundedly.Economic growth; social capital; social norms; technological progress.

Pollution, fertility and public policies

This work extends the existing OLG literature on pollution to include endogenous fertility and endogenous mortality thus allowing the model to belong to the uniÖed growth theory narrative (Galor and Weil, 2000; Kalemli-Ozcan, 2002). With speciÖc regard to the theoretical analysis, we assume that individuals are not aware of the e§ects of their choices on environmental quality (Antoci et al., 2011, 2016). Environmental quality also a§ects individual mortality, which - as several empirical works pinpoint (see Ra¢ n and Seegmuller, 2014, and the literature cited therein) -, is strongly related to level of pollution. In this context, we analyse the role of public policies (financed at a balanced budget) on health and environmental quality. The main aim of the work is to analyse, on the one hand, the dynamics of the transition of the economy from a phase of underdevelopment to a phase of sustained development and, on the other hand, how public policies can favour the take o§ within an environmentally sustainable trajector