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Overlapping Generations Models of General Equilibrium

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Abstract

The OLG model of Allais and Samuelson retains the methodological assumptions of agent optimization and market clearing from the Arrow-Debreu model, yet its equilibrium set has different properties: Pareto inefficiency, indeterminacy, positive valuation of money, and a golden rule equilibrium in which the rate of interest is equal to population growth (independent of impatience). These properties are shown to derive not from market incompleteness, but from lack of market clearing "at infinity;" they can be eliminated with land or uniform impatience. The OLG model is used to analyze bubbles, social security, demographic effects on stock returns, the foundations of monetary theory, Keynesian vs. real business cycle macromodels, and classical vs. neoclassical disputes.

Suggested Citation

  • John Geanakoplos, 2008. "Overlapping Generations Models of General Equilibrium," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1663, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1663
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    Cited by:

    1. John P. Conley & Robert Driskill & Ping Wang, 2019. "Capitalization, decentralization, and intergenerational spillovers in a Tiebout economy with a durable public good," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 67(1), pages 1-27, February.
    2. Mark J. Kamstra & Robert J. Shiller, 2009. "The Case for Trills: Giving the People and Their Pension Funds a Stake in the Wealth of the Nation," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1717, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    3. Simon Glöser-Chahoud & Johannes Hartwig & I. David Wheat & Martin Faulstich, 2016. "The cobweb theorem and delays in adjusting supply in metals' markets," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 32(3-4), pages 279-308, July.
    4. d’Albis, Hippolyte & Augeraud-Véron, Emmanuelle & Hupkes, Hermen Jan, 2015. "Local determinacy of prices in an overlapping generations model with continuous trading," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 16-24.
    5. Feigenbaum, James & Caliendo, Frank N. & Gahramanov, Emin, 2011. "Optimal irrational behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 285-303, March.
    6. Orrego, Fabrizio, 2011. "Demografía y precios de activos," Revista Estudios Económicos, Banco Central de Reserva del Perú, issue 22, pages 83-101.
    7. Brito, Paulo & Dilão, Rui, 2010. "Equilibrium price dynamics in an overlapping-generations exchange economy," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 343-355, May.
    8. Jaśkiewicz, Anna & Nowak, Andrzej S., 2014. "Stationary Markov perfect equilibria in risk sensitive stochastic overlapping generations models," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 411-447.
    9. Brito, Paulo, 2008. "Equilibrium asset prices and bubbles in a continuous time OLG model," MPRA Paper 10701, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Brito, Paulo, 2014. "Interest rates and endogenous population growth: joint age-dependent dynamics," MPRA Paper 58656, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Alogoskoufis, George & Malliaris, A.G. & Stengos, Thanasis, 2023. "The scope and methodology of economic and financial asymmetries," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demography; Inefficiency; Indeterminacy; Money; Bubbles; Cycles; Rate of interest; Impatience; Land; Infinity; Expectations; Social security; Golden rule;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D5 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics
    • E11 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Marxian; Sraffian; Kaleckian
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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