The tasks of macroeconomics are to interpret observations on economic aggregates in terms of the motivations and constraints of economic agents and to predict the consequences of alternative hypothetical ways of administering government economic policy. General equilibrium models form a convenient context for analyzing such alternative government policies. In the past ten years, the strengths of general equilibrium models and the corresponding deficiencies of Keynesian and monetarist models of the 1960s have induced macroeconomists to begin applying general equilibrium models. This book describes some general equilibrium models that are dynamic, that have been built to help interpret time-series of observations of economic aggregates and to predict the consequences of alternative government interventions. The first part of the book describes dynamic programming, search theory, and real dynamic capital pricing models. Among the applications are stochastic optimal growth models, matching models, arbitrage pricing theories, and theories of interest rates, stock prices, and options. The remaining parts of the book are devoted to issues in monetary theory; currency-in-utility-function models, cash-in-advance models, Townsend turnpike models, and overlapping generations models are all used to study a set of common issues. By putting these models to work on concrete problems in exercises offered throughout the text, Sargent provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses of these models of money. An appendix on functional analysis shows the unity that underlies the mathematics used in disparate areas of rational expectations economics. This book on dynamic equilibrium macroeconomics is suitable for graduate-level courses; a companion book, Exercises in Dynamic Macroeconomic Theory, provides answers to the exercises and is also available from Harvard University Press.

Economies are constantly in flux, and economists have long sought reliable means of analyzing their dynamic properties. This book provides a succinct and accessible exposition of modern dynamic (or intertemporal) macroeconomics. The authors use a microeconomics-based general equilibrium framework, specifically the overlapping generations model, which assumes that in every period there are two generations which overlap. This model allows the authors to fully describe economies over time and to employ traditional welfare analysis to judge the effects of various policies. By choosing to keep the mathematical level simple and to use the same modeling framework throughout, the authors are able to address many subtle economic issues. They analyze savings, social security systems, the determination of interest rates and asset prices for different types of assets, Ricardian equivalence, business cycles, chaos theory, investment, growth, and a variety of monetary phenomena. Introduction to Dynamic Macroeconomic Theory will become a classic of economic exposition and a standard teaching and reference tool for intertemporal macroeconomics and the overlapping generations model. The writing is exceptionally clear. Each result is illustrated with analytical derivations, graphically, and by worked out examples. Exercises, which are strategically placed, are an integral part of the book.

An advanced treatment of modern macroeconomics, presented through a sequence of dynamic equilibrium models, with discussion of the implications for monetary and fiscal policy. This textbook offers an advanced treatment of modern macroeconomics, presented through a sequence of dynamic general equilibrium models based on intertemporal optimization on the part of economic agents. The book treats macroeconomics as applied and policy-oriented general equilibrium analysis, examining a number of models, each of which is suitable for investigating specific issues but may be unsuitable for others. After presenting a brief survey of the evolution of macroeconomics and the key facts about long-run economic growth and aggregate fluctuations, the book introduces the main elements of the intertemporal approach through a series of two-period competitive general equilibrium models—the simplest possible intertemporal models. This sets the stage for the remainder of the book, which presents models of economic growth, aggregate fluctuations, and monetary and fiscal policy. The text focuses on a full analysis of a limited number of key intertemporal models, which are stripped down to essentials so that students can focus on the dynamic properties of the models. Exercises encourage students to try their hands at solving versions of the dynamic models that define modern macroeconomics. Appendixes review the main mathematical techniques needed to analyze optimizing dynamic macroeconomic models. The book is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students who have some knowledge of economic theory and mathematics for economists.

This book is a companion volume to Dynamic Macroeconomic Theory by Thomas J. Sargent. It provides scrimmages in dynamic macroeconomic theory--precisely the kind of drills that people will need in order to learn the techniques of dynamic programming and its applications to economics. By doing these exercises, the reader can acquire the ability to put the theory to work in a variety of new situations, build technical skill, gain experience in fruitful ways of setting up problems, and learn to distinguish cases in which problems are well posed from cases in which they are not.The basic framework provided by variants of a dynamic general equilibrium model is used to analyze problems in macroeconomics and monetary economics. An equilibrium model provides a mapping from parameters of preferences, technologies, endowments, and "rules of the game" to a probability model for time series. The rigor of the logical connections between theory and observations that the mapping provides is an attractive feature of dynamic equilibrium, or "rational expectations," models. This book gives repeated and varied practice in constructing and interpreting this mapping.

A significant new edition of a text that offers both tools and sample applications; extensive revisions and seven new chapters improve and expand upon the original treatment.

The definitive graduate textbook on modern macroeconomics Macroeconomic Theory is the most up-to-date graduate-level macroeconomics textbook available today. This revised second edition emphasizes the general equilibrium character of macroeconomics to explain effects across the whole economy while taking into account recent research in the field. It is the perfect resource for students and researchers seeking coverage of the most current developments in macroeconomics. Michael Wickens lays out the core ideas of modern macroeconomics and its links with finance. He presents the simplest general equilibrium macroeconomic model for a closed economy, and then gradually develops a comprehensive model of the open economy. Every important topic is covered, including growth, business cycles, fiscal policy, taxation and debt finance, current account sustainability, and exchange-rate determination. There is also an up-to-date account of monetary policy through inflation targeting. Wickens addresses the interrelationships between macroeconomics and modern finance and shows how they affect stock, bond, and foreign-exchange markets. In this edition, he also examines issues raised by the most recent financial crisis, and two new chapters explore banks, financial intermediation, and unconventional monetary policy, as well as modern theories of unemployment. There is new material in most other chapters, including macrofinance models and inflation targeting when there are supply shocks. While the mathematics in the book is rigorous, the fundamental concepts presented make the text self-contained and easy to use. Accessible, comprehensive, and wide-ranging, Macroeconomic Theory is the standard book on the subject for students and economists. The most up-to-date graduate macroeconomics textbook available today General equilibrium macroeconomics and the latest advances covered fully and completely Two new chapters investigate banking and monetary policy, and unemployment Addresses questions raised by the recent financial crisis Web-based exercises with answers Extensive mathematical appendix for at-a-glance easy reference This book has been adopted as a textbook at the following universities: American University Bentley College Brandeis University Brigham Young University California Lutheran University California State University - Sacramento Cardiff University Carleton University Colorado College Fordham University London Metropolitan University New York University Northeastern University Ohio University - Main Campus San Diego State University St. Cloud State University State University Of New York - Amherst Campus State University Of New York - Buffalo North Campus Temple University - Main Texas Tech University University of Alberta University Of Notre Dame University Of Ottawa University Of Pittsburgh University Of South Florida - Tampa University Of Tennessee University Of Texas At Dallas University Of Washington University of Western Ontario Wesleyan University Western Nevada Community College

An attempt to revitalize the traditions of nonmarket clearing approaches to macroeconomics. Using tools from dynamic analysis, the text introduces a consistent, integrated framework for disequilibrium macroeconomic dynamics and explore its relationship to the competing equilibrium dynamics.

This collection of essays applies modern micro-founded macroeconomic models to some of the most important economic policy questions facing monetary and macroeconomic policymakers. Key issues surveyed include: consumption investment; growth and business cycles; the role of government; asset pricing; the interaction of monetary and fiscal policy; open-economy issues; stabilization policy and general equilibrium analysis of emerging market crises. The book includes specially commissioned chapters from recognized authorities.

Dynamic Approaches to Macroeconomics provides the advanced student with key methodological tools for the dynamic analysis of a core selection of macroeconomic phenomena, including consumption and investment choices, employment and unemployment outcomes, and economic growth. The technical treatment of these tools will enable the student to handle current journal literature, while not assuming any particular familiarity with advanced analytical tools or mathematical notions. As these tools are introduced, they are related to particular applications to illustrate their use. Chapters are linked by various formal and substantive threads. Discrete-time optimization under uncertainty, introduced in Chapter 1, is motivated and discussed by applications to consumption theory, with particular attention to empirical implementation. Chapter 2 focuses on continuous-time optimization techniques, and discusses the relevant insights in the context of partial-equilibrium investment models. Chapter 3 revisits many of the previous chapters' formal derivations with applications to dynamic labour demand, in comparison to optimal investment models, and characterizes labor market equilibrium when not only individual firms' labor demand, but also individual labor supply by workers, is subject to adjustment costs. Chapter 4 proposes broader applications of methods introduced in the previous chapters and studies continuous-time equilibrium dynamics of representative agent economies, featuring both consumption and investment choices, with applications to long-run growth frameworks of analysis. Chapter 5 illustrates the role of decentralized trading in determining aggregate equilibria, and characterizes aggregate labor market dynamics in the presence of frictional unemployment. Chapters 4 and 5 pay particular attention to strategic interactions and externalities: even when each agent correctly solves his or her individual dynamic problem, modern microfounded macroeconomic models recognize that macroeconomic equilibrium need not have unambiguously desirable properties. By bridging the gap between undergraduate economics and modern microfounded macroeconomic research, this book will be of interest to graduate students in economics, and as a technical reference for economic researchers.

International Macroeconomic Dynamics provides extensive applications of important macroeconomic dynamic models to the international economy. For a long time, the study of macroeconomics has focused almost exclusively on a closed economy and downplayed the role of international transactions. Today, however, researchers recognize that one cannot fully understand domestic macroeconomic relationships without considering the global economy within which each country operates. Increasingly, economists are treating international transactions as an integral part of the macroeconomic system, and international macroeconomics has become an area of intensive research activity. International Macroeconomic Dynamics provides extensive applications of important macroeconomic dynamic models to the international economy. It adopts the main contemporary macroeconomic framework, the representative agent model, and develops a series of models of increasing complexity. The author considers both small and large economies and analyzes them in both deterministic and stochastic contexts. The emphasis is very much on the development of the analytical models; a novel feature is the extensive use of continuous-time stochastic methods. While the author applies the models to a range of important policy issues, particularly issues of fiscal policy, the reader is invited to view the analyses as blueprints for other applications.