When analyzing a dynamic economic model, one fundamental question is are the dynamics simple or chaotic? Inverse limits, as an area of topology, has its origins in the 1920s and since the 1950s has been very useful as a means of constructing "pathological" continua. However, since the 1980s,...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money have the property that the dynamics are ill-defined going forward in time, but well-defined going backward in time. In this paper, we apply the theory of inverse limits to characterize topologically all possible solutions to a dynamic...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money or overlapping generations model have the property that the dynamical system characterizing equilibria in the model are multi-valued going forward in time, but single-valued going backward in time, i.e., the model or dynamical system...

In this paper, we provide a framework for calculating expected utility in models with chaotic equilibria and consequently a framework for ranking chaos. Suppose that a dynamic economic model’s equilibria correspond to orbits generated by a chaotic dynamical system f : X ! X where X is a...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money have the property that the dynamical system characterizing equilibria is multi-valued going forward in time, but single-valued going backward in time, i.e., the model has backward dynamics. In this paper, we apply the theory of inverse...

Some economic models like the cash-in-advance model of money or overlapping generations model have the property that the dynamics are ill-defined going forward in time, but well-defined going backward in time. In such instances, what does it mean for an ill-defined dynamical system to be...

A jump diffusion model coupled with a local volatility function has been suggested by Andersen and Andreasen (2000). By generating a set of option prices assuming a jump diffusion with known parameters, we investigate two crucial challenges intrinsic to this type of model: calibration of...

The objective of this paper is to inform the debate on how efficiency targets for Network Rail (formerly Railtrack) should be set during the 2002/03 Interim Review and beyond. Given the problems experienced during the 2000 Periodic Review, which focused on external benchmarks, we propose an...

Most economic models do not suggest an optimal fiscal policy in which the government's budget is balanced each period. Conventional wisdom suggests that the government run surpluses and deficits to smooth taxes. In this paper, I use an approach which brings together real business cycle theory...

Is a balanced-budget rule compatible with a government honoring its debt obligations? According to the conventional explanation, governments honor their debt obligations to maintain a good reputation for future borrowing. The ability of borrowing is desirable because it allows for greater tax...