We are concerned by the dynamic demographic and economic consequences of epidemics, and to this end, we consider a general overlapping generations model which allows for several epidemic configurations. People live for three periods, successively as children, junior adults and senior adults. A...

The transition from economic stagnation to sustained growth is often modelled thanks to "population-induced" productivity improvements, which are assumed rather than derived from primary assumptions. In this paper, the effect of population on productivity is derived from optimal behavior. Both...

We use two stage optimal control techniques to solve some adoption problems. We first consider the case of an isolated economy, which therefore takes its decisions in exclusive accordance with its own preferences and constraints. The planner has to decide whether the economy has to switch to a...

In this paper we prove that every linear model with rational expectations can be transformed by means of an one-to-one mapping into another model which has one of the following properties: i) it is degenerated, ii) it is backward, iii) it has a Blanchard-Kahn form. In addition to some simple...

In this paper, we examine techniques for the analytical and numerical solution of statedependent differential-difference equations. Such equations occur in the continuous time modelling of vintage capital growth models, which form a particularly important class of models in modern economic...

The paper reexamines Lipset’s theory of democratization, by distinguishing the role of (economic) development from that of education, inequality, and (natural) resources. We highlight two contrasting effects of education and human capital accumulation. On the one side, education prompts...