This paper models the phenomenon of inertia driven by individual strategy switching costs in a stochastic evolutionary context. Kandori, Mailath, and Rob`s (1993) model of a finite population of agents repeatedly playing a 2x2 symmetric coordination game is extended to allow for such inertia....

Since forecast failure is due to unanticipated large shifts in deterministic factors, sensible agents should adopt robust forecasting rules. Unless the model coincides with the generating mechanism, one cannot even prove that causal variables will dominate non-causal in forecasting. In such a...

Despite the emerging consensus on the validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) between trading countries in the long run, empirical evidence in favour of the PPP theory is scarce in data predominantly exposed to real shocks. This paper tests for PPP between Norway and its trading partners using...

While there has been a great deal of interest in the modelling of non-linearities and regime shifts in economic time series, there is no clear consensus regarding the forecasting abilities of these models. In this paper we develop a general approach to predict multiple time series subject to...

This paper provides a brief survey of issues associated with testing or regime shifts in the short-sample macroeconomic time series data found for African economies. Using Monte Carlo method the paper suggests that the power of standard tests on model stability is extremely low applied to the...

Nutrition and health are important dimensions of human well-being. Both aspects are complementary to income and deserve attention in its own right. However, there is an interrelationship between economic development and nutritional status which this study aims to investigate. We use a...

Why might there be a long-run trade-off between growth and unemployment? In general equilibrium, the returns on the factors of production are interdependent. This paper develops a model where the determination of the wage is central to the evolution of these incentives. The incentive to hire...

This paper presents a simple model of an Ethiopian farm household which captures three important aspects of the policy regime characterising the Derg period. These aspects are compulsory grain delivery, rationing in manufactured consumer goods, and rationing in modern farm inputs. The model...

This note determines the precise connection between an agent`s attitude towards income risks and his attitude over risks in the underlying consumption space. Our results follow a general mathematical theory connecting the curvature properties of an objective function with the ray-curvature...

Exploiting new data from a survey and behavioral experiment conducted in Peru we analyze indvidual`s preferences for securing income in old age. We identify a group that is unrationed by the mandate to save in Peru`s pension system, and draw insights from their affiliation and contribution...