Quadrature-Based Methods for Solving Heterogeneous Agent Models with Discontinuous Distributions

The paper develops a method for solving heterogeneous agent models in which the distribution of characteristics across agents is a state variable and the distribution can be discontinuous at points that vary endogenously. The method extends the approach of [Tauchen, George and Robert Hussey, Econometrica <Emphasis Type="Bold">59, 1991, 371–396] for solving nonlinear rational expectations models using a discrete-state Markov chain approximation to a continuous Markov process. The paper presents an example application of a general equilibrium labor search model with persistence in the idiosyncratic productivity of heterogeneous firms. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005