"Die Armutsmessung der empirischen Sozialforschung ist von einer Reihe von Annahmen und Setzungen abhängig, die Ausmaß und Struktur der Armutsbevölkerung beeinflussen. Äquivalenzskalen, Ermittlung des mittleren Einkommens als Referenzgröße und die Festlegung von Armutsschwellen führen zu...

This paper provides formulae for computing perturbation method approximations of unconditional variances of variables in nonlinear DSGE models. Spurious higher order terms that creep into multi-step ahead forecasts can produce explosive time paths frustrating traditional approaches to estimating...

This paper characterizes the optimal long-run rate of inflation, consistent with an occasionally binding zero lower bound on nominal interest rates, in a stochastic New Keynesian sticky-price model calibrated to the U.S. economy. This may serve to inform discussions on the design of an...

Though multivariate GARCH models are widely used in empirical research, their computational aspects still represent a major hurdle, especially when these specifications are introduced in structural models. One such extension namely the simultaneous equations model (SEM) with GARCH errors was...

This paper studies a Monte Carlo algorithm for computing distributions of state variables when the underlying model is a Markov process. It is shown that the $L_1$ error of the estimator always converges to zero with probability one, and often at a parametric rate. A related technique for...

The paper deals with the efficient computation of general equilibrium models with a continuum of heterogenous agents. It compares an improved version of the Krusell-Smith algorithm to a backward-induction algorithm. The Krusell-Smith algorithm I use in the paper modifies the original algorithm...

This paper builds on our previous work that used a non linear stochastic dynamic programming problem to solve for the optimal level of phosphorus discharged into a watershed. Typically, there is a trade off between profits from agriculture and environmental damage due to excessive levels of...

DSGE models are customarily built in the presence of uncertainties of various levels, such as the specification of behavioural equations of economic agents, the actual values of model parameters, and so on. When the degree of complexity of the model structure and its parameterization increases,...

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a population based stochastic optimization technique. PSO is similar to optimization with Genetic Algorithms (GA). In PSO, the potential solutions (particles) move through the problem space by following the current optimum particles. Experience shows that PSO...

In the standard models of North-South technological-knowledge diffusion, the larger the initial technological-knowledge gap between countries is, the higher the Southern catching up. However, this result does not adjust well to Southern reality as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to...