IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/streco/v60y2022icp1-14.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An empirical test of a fundamental Harrod-Kaldor business cycle model

Author

Listed:
  • Franke, Reiner

Abstract

Going back to the roots of modern business cycle modelling, the paper advances a macroeconomic model of a most elementary (and now largely forgotten) cycle mechanism within a growth framework. Essentially, it combines a nonlinear Harrodian instability for a business sentiment index with Harrod’s and Kaldor’s old idea that firms tend to reduce investment if they have already built up high capacities relative to their assessment of the normal market potential. For greater realism, a previous version is augmented by a delay in the capital growth rate and by in general three random shock processes. This makes it possible to estimate the model on quarterly US data of utilization and a certain capital ratio. The focus is on an inquiry into the model’s goodness-of-fit, for which the method of simulated moments is a fruitful technique. Here, 14 fairly ambitious summary statistics that the model should try to reproduce allow a detailed diagnosis of its merits and demerits. The results are sufficiently encouraging and form a sound basis for stepwise extensions of the model in future work, or for refinements in the estimation procedure.

Suggested Citation

  • Franke, Reiner, 2022. "An empirical test of a fundamental Harrod-Kaldor business cycle model," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:60:y:2022:i:c:p:1-14
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2021.11.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0954349X21001478
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.strueco.2021.11.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pfajfar, Damjan & Santoro, Emiliano, 2010. "Heterogeneity, learning and information stickiness in inflation expectations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 426-444, September.
    2. Ascari, Guido & Fagiolo, Giorgio & Roventini, Andrea, 2015. "Fat-Tail Distributions And Business-Cycle Models," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 465-476, March.
    3. Joan Robinson, 1962. "Essays in the Theory of Economic Growth," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-00626-7.
    4. Christopher D. Carroll, 2003. "Macroeconomic Expectations of Households and Professional Forecasters," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 269-298.
    5. Michaelis Nikiforos, 2018. "Distribution-led growth through methodological lenses," FMM Working Paper 24-2018, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    6. Reiner Franke & Frank Westerhoff, 2017. "Taking Stock: A Rigorous Modelling Of Animal Spirits In Macroeconomics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1152-1182, December.
    7. Jump, Robert Calvert & Levine, Paul, 2019. "Behavioural New Keynesian models," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 59-77.
    8. Paul De Grauwe, 2014. "Booms and Busts in Economic Activity: A Behavioral Explanation," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Exchange Rates and Global Financial Policies, chapter 19, pages 521-556, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Lars Peter Hansen & James J. Heckman, 1996. "The Empirical Foundations of Calibration," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 87-104, Winter.
    10. Reiner Franke, 2017. "A simple approach to overcome the problems arising from the Keynesian stability condition," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(1), pages 48-69, April.
    11. Franke, Reiner, 2009. "Applying the method of simulated moments to estimate a small agent-based asset pricing model," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 804-815, December.
    12. Eckhard Hein & Marc Lavoie & Till van Treeck, 2011. "Some instability puzzles in Kaleckian models of growth and distribution: a critical survey," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 587-612.
    13. Tae-Seok Jang & Stephen Sacht, 2016. "Animal Spirits and the Business Cycle: Empirical Evidence from Moment Matching," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 76-113, February.
    14. Reiner Franke, 2019. "Harrod's long‐range capital outlay as a stabilizer of Harrodian instability," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(2), pages 302-312, May.
    15. Reiner Franke, 2015. "How Fat-Tailed is US Output Growth?," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 213-242, May.
    16. Reiner Franke, 2017. "What output-capital ratio to adopt for macroeconomic calibrations?," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 208-224, March.
    17. Franke, Reiner, 2018. "Reviving Kalecki’s business cycle model in a growth context," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 157-171.
    18. Reiner Franke, 2018. "Competitive moment matching of a New-Keynesian and an Old-Keynesian model," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 13(2), pages 201-239, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thomas H. W. Ziesemer, 2023. "Semi-endogenous growth in a non-Walrasian DSEM for Brazil: estimation and simulation of changes in foreign income, human capital, R&D, and terms of trade," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 1147-1183, April.
    2. Wildauer, Rafael & Kohler, Karsten & Aboobaker, Adam & Guschanski, Alexander, 2023. "Energy price shocks, conflict inflation, and income distribution in a three-sector model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kukacka, Jiri & Jang, Tae-Seok & Sacht, Stephen, 2018. "On the estimation of behavioral macroeconomic models via simulated maximum likelihood," Economics Working Papers 2018-11, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics.
    2. Emanuele Russo, 2021. "Harrodian instability in decentralized economies: an agent-based approach," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(2), pages 539-567, July.
    3. Jump, Robert Calvert & Levine, Paul, 2019. "Behavioural New Keynesian models," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 59-77.
    4. De Grauwe, Paul & Foresti, Pasquale, 2020. "Animal Spirits and Fiscal Policy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 247-263.
    5. Zila, Eric & Kukacka, Jiri, 2023. "Moment set selection for the SMM using simple machine learning," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 366-391.
    6. Grazzini, Jakob & Richiardi, Matteo, 2015. "Estimation of ergodic agent-based models by simulated minimum distance," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 148-165.
    7. Murakami, Hiroki, 2018. "Existence and uniqueness of growth cycles in post Keynesian systems," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 293-304.
    8. Beqiraj, Elton & Di Bartolomeo, Giovanni & Di Pietro, Marco, 2019. "Beliefs formation and the puzzle of forward guidance power," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 20-32.
    9. De Grauwe, Paul & Ji, Yuemei, 2020. "Structural reforms, animal spirits, and monetary policies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    10. Dave, Chetan & Malik, Samreen, 2017. "A tale of fat tails," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 293-317.
    11. Hiroki Murakami, 2019. "A note on the “unique” business cycle in the Keynesian theory," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 384-404, July.
    12. Calvert Jump, Robert & Hommes, Cars & Levine, Paul, 2019. "Learning, heterogeneity, and complexity in the New Keynesian model," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 446-470.
    13. Murakami, Hiroki, 2020. "Monetary policy in the unique growth cycle of post Keynesian systems," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 39-49.
    14. Kukacka, Jiri & Sacht, Stephen, 2023. "Estimation of heuristic switching in behavioral macroeconomic models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    15. Annicchiarico, Barbara & Surricchio, Silvia & Waldmann, Robert J., 2019. "A behavioral model of the credit cycle," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 53-83.
    16. Murakami, Hiroki & Asada, Toichiro, 2018. "Inflation-deflation expectations and economic stability in a Kaleckian system," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 183-201.
    17. Leonid Serkov & Sergey Krasnykh, 2023. "The Specific Behavior of Economic Agents with Heterogeneous Expectations in the New Keynesian Model with Rigid Prices and Wages," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, February.
    18. Grazzini, Jakob & Richiardi, Matteo G. & Tsionas, Mike, 2017. "Bayesian estimation of agent-based models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 26-47.
    19. Eckhard Hein, 2016. "Secular stagnation or stagnation policy? Steindl after Summers," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 69(276), pages 3-47.
    20. Paul Hubert, 2014. "FOMC Forecasts as a Focal Point for Private Expectations," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(7), pages 1381-1420, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Harrodian instability; Capacity effects; Nonlinear sentiment adjustments; Method of simulated moments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:60:y:2022:i:c:p:1-14. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/525148 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.