We propose an approach to measure the mobility immanent in regular Markov processes. For this purpose, we distinguish between mobility in equilibrium and mobility associated with convergence towards equilibrium. The former aspect is measured as the expectation of a functional, defined on the...

Based on a relative entropy approach, this paper proposes a method to estimate or update transition matrices using just cross-sectional observations at two points in time. The method is then applied to explain the development of the US income distribution. Starting from three hypothesized...

The output gap plays an important role in the assessment and conduct of monetary policy. Most of the current literature, however, relies on filtering procedures which use ad hoc smoothness arguments for identification. Furthermore, they are subject to end-of-sample problems and do not provide...

The paper proposes an approach to evaluate hypotheses about transition dynamics when only the distributions at two points in time are observed. Using the principle of statistical mechanics, we show how to adjust in the "most probable" way a hypothesis so that it becomes compatible with the...

A difficulty with industrial policy regards the uncertainty about infant industries' long term potential. We argue that alternative commercial policy instruments may be associated with differences in the speed and accuracy with which the government learns about industry type