Recently David Laibson and others have argued in favor of using hyperbolic discount functions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether conventional wisdom, based on the standard model with exponential discounting, also holds in the case where consumers have hyperbolic discount functions. In other words do hyperbolic preferences matter for practical policy evaluation? Within the fram...

When considering adoption of a domestic climate change policy, politicians and the public frequently refer to concerns about competitiveness. Competitiveness in this context does not have a precise economic definition. In this article, we discuss possible ways to anchor the concept of competitiveness in economic analysis. This framework then serves as the basis of a systematic survey the litera...

Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) models are increasingly used for short-run commodity market analysis, although they are generally not designed for such purposes. This study remedies a key shortcoming of such work by incorporating a commodity stockholding model into a short-run global AGE model. An approach to calibrating and validating the model is demonstrated for the staple grains sector. I...

Th e present paper focuses on the role of domestic resource mobilization for fi nancing poverty reduction strategies. Policy makers should be aware of important macroeconomic trade-off s associated with MDG strategies fi nanced from tax increases or domestic borrowing. Th e trade-off s are largely intertemporal: can poor and middle-income countries absorb the initial fi nancing costs in order t...

This paper advocates computable general equilibrium (CGE) models as an analytical framework that is suitable for assessing the impacts of policy interference on the three dimensions of Sustainable Development, i.e. environmental quality, economic performance and equity. Methodological extensions of standard CGE models are illustrated that may strengthen the role of CGE models in measuring polic...

111 We present a computable general equilibrium model of the interface between the Great Salt Lake (GSL) ecosystem and the regional economy that impacts the ecosystem. With respect to the ecosystem, the model treats the various representative species as net-energy maximizers and bases population dynamics on the period-by-period sizes of surplus net energy. Energy markets-where predators and pre...

A solution methodology employing finite elements and a parameterized expectations algorithm is proposed for computing the equilibrium of a CIA model economy. The stochastic growth model considered introduces money via a CIA constraint, and takes consumption as the cash good and leisure and capital investment as credit goods. The ability of the methodology to approximate the solution of the mode...

A dynamic general equilibrium model is constructed to examine the impact of mass immigration on capital accumulation in life-cycle economies. The model is calibrated to match Canadian demographic characteristics over 1861–1913. This was a period when Canada experienced a dramatic shift in migration patterns, with increasing immigration flows, and a surge in domestic savings and capital inflows....

Using a global general equilibrium trade model, the paper assesses the long-term implications of global rebalancing for Asian economies and explores the benefits of ChinaJapan-US integration. The analysis suggests that consumption evaporation and growth slowdown in the US and the consequent its current account correction would force China, Japan and other East Asian economies to undergo substan...

This paper considers the macroeconomic implications of a set of empirical studies finding a high degree of dispersion in preference heterogeneity. It develops a model with both uninsurable idiosyncratic income risk and risk aversion heterogeneity to quantify their effects on wealth inequality. The results show that with the available estimates of the risk aversion distribution from PSID data th...