Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money have the property that the dynamics are ill-defined going forward in time, but well-defined going backward in time. In this paper, we apply the theory of inverse limits to characterize topologically all possible solutions to a dynamic...

When analyzing a dynamic economic model, one fundamental question is are the dynamics simple or chaotic? Inverse limits, as an area of topology, has its origins in the 1920s and since the 1950s has been very useful as a means of constructing "pathological" continua. However, since the 1980s,...

In this paper, we provide a framework for calculating expected utility in models with chaotic equilibria and consequently a framework for ranking chaos. Suppose that a dynamic economic model’s equilibria correspond to orbits generated by a chaotic dynamical system f : X ! X where X is a...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money or overlapping generations model have the property that the dynamics are ill-defined going forward in time, but well-defined going backward in time. In such instances, what does it mean for an ill-defined dynamical system to be...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money have the property that the dynamical system characterizing equilibria is multi-valued going forward in time, but single-valued going backward in time, i.e., the model has backward dynamics. In this paper, we apply the theory of inverse...

Does consideration of sunspot equilibria in the cash-in-advance model help the model match key features in the US macroeconomic data? One can use the cash-in-advance model to generate predictions of macro time series via an equilibrium of the model. However, when restricted to minimum state...

Some macroeconomic models exhibit a type of global indeterminacy known as Euler equation branching (e.g., the one-sector growth model with a production externality). The dynamics in such models are governed by a differential inclusion. In this paper, we show that in models with Euler equation...

Most economic models do not suggest an optimal fiscal policy in which the government's budget is balanced each period. Conventional wisdom suggests that the government run surpluses and deficits to smooth taxes. In this paper, I use an approach which brings together real business cycle theory...

Is a balanced-budget rule compatible with a government honoring its debt obligations? According to the conventional explanation, governments honor their debt obligations to maintain a good reputation for future borrowing. The ability of borrowing is desirable because it allows for greater tax...

I extend the Atkeson and Kehoe (1999) putty-clay model to include elastic labor supply and more general forms of technology to explore the impact of oil shocks on the macroeconomy. In particular, I am interested in (1) how this extension affects their results with regard to permanent changes in...