Policy Evaluation With Computable General Equilibrium Models

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling is a relatively new field in economics, however, it is rapidly becoming one of the most useful tools for policy evaluation. This book applies CGE modelling to some of the most urgent international economic policy problems, including the Kyoto Protocol, pension reform, and income taxation, and also analyses the methodological issues that arise.

In this collection of 17 articles, top scholars synthesize and analyze scholarship on this widely used tool of policy analysis, setting forth its accomplishments, difficulties, and means of implementation. Though CGE modeling does not play a prominent role in top US graduate schools, it is employed universally in the development of economic policy. This collection is particularly important because it presents a history of modeling applications and examines competing points of view. Presents coherent summaries of CGE theories that inform major model types Covers the construction of CGE databases, model solving, and computer-assisted interpretation of results Shows how CGE modeling has made a contribution to economic policy

The book provides a hands-on introduction to computable general equilibrium (CGE) models, written at an accessible, undergraduate level.

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling is a relatively new field in economics, however, it is rapidly becoming one of the most useful tools for policy evaluation. This book applies CGE modelling to some of the most urgent international economic policy problems, including the Kyoto Protocol, pension reform, and income taxation, and also analyses the methodological issues that arise.

The Oxford Handbook of Computational Economics and Finance provides a survey of both the foundations of and recent advances in the frontiers of analysis and action. It is both historically and interdisciplinarily rich and also tightly connected to the rise of digital society. It begins with the conventional view of computational economics, including recent algorithmic development in computing rational expectations, volatility, and general equilibrium. It then moves from traditional computing in economics and finance to recent developments in natural computing, including applications of nature-inspired intelligence, genetic programming, swarm intelligence, and fuzzy logic. Also examined are recent developments of network and agent-based computing in economics. How these approaches are applied is examined in chapters on such subjects as trading robots and automated markets. The last part deals with the epistemology of simulation in its trinity form with the integration of simulation, computation, and dynamics. Distinctive is the focus on natural computationalism and the examination of the implications of intelligent machines for the future of computational economics and finance. Not merely individual robots, but whole integrated systems are extending their "immigration" to the world of Homo sapiens, or symbiogenesis.

The purpose of this manual is to contribute to and facilitate the use of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models in the analysis of issues related to food policy in developing countries. The volume includes a detailed presentation of a static “standard” CGE model and its required database and incorporates features of particular importance in developing countries. The manual discusses the implementation of the model in GAMS and is accompanied by a CD-ROM that includes the GAMS software (free demo system), the GAMS input files for the model, sample databases, simulations, solution reports, and a social accounting matrix (SAM) aggregation program. Although the volume provides a standardized framework for analysis, the analyst is not forced to make “one-size-fits-all” assumptions. The GAMS code is written to give the analyst considerable flexibility in model specification.

This book covers some important topics in the construction of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and examines use of these models for the analysis of economic policies, their properties, and their implications. Readers will find explanation and discussion of the theoretical structure and practical application of several model typologies, including dynamic, stochastic, micro-macro, and simulation models, as well as different closure rules and policy experiments. The presentation of applications to various country and problem-specific case studies serves to provide an informed and clearly articulated summary of the state of the art and the most important methodological advancements in the field of policy modeling within the framework of general equilibrium analysis. The book is an outcome of a recent workshop of the Italian Development Economists Association attended by a group of leading practitioners involved in the generation of CGE models and research on modeling the economy and policy making. It will be of interest to researchers, professional economists, graduate students, and knowledgeable policy makers.

This collection of work reviews the results of using CGE models since the early 1970s, with an emphasis on models that encompass broad structural factors such as distribution of income and wealth, land tenancy relationships, foreign trade, production, markets, and control of the means of production that are fundamental to the behavior of developing economies. Economist Lance Taylor is an advocate of aggressive government management of developing economies. The models described in this book are are easy to set up and manipulate on microcomputers and should dominate the development debate. Taylor's detailed discussion of structuralist COE models is followed by contributions that take up their application in specific countries.This collection of work reviews the results of using CGE models since the early 1970s, with an emphasis on models that encompass broad structural factors such as distribution of income and wealth, land tenancy relationships, foreign trade, production, markets, and control of the means of production that are fundamental to the behavior of developing economies.Chapters explain the macro constraints on India's economic growth and describe Plan Austral and other heterodox shocks, describe the application of a structuralist model to Nicaragua, to Mexican food consumption policies, and to the food market in Colombia. They discuss a model with portfolio choice for Thailand, resource mobilization through administered prices, and conflicting claims and dynamic inflationary mechanisms in India, short-run energyeconomy interactions in Egypt, policy options for growth and the alleviation of poverty in Sri Lanka, currency devaluation in Mexico, and medium-term growth projections for Kuwait. The book concludes with a manual for a structuralist macro model program.

Top scholars synthesize and analyze scholarship on this widely used tool of policy analysis in 27 articles, setting forth its accomplishments, difficulties, and means of implementation. Though CGE modeling does not play a prominent role in top U.S. graduate schools, it is employed universally in the development of economic policy. This collection is particularly important because it presents a history of modeling applications and examines competing points of view. Presents coherent summaries of CGE theories that inform major model types Covers the construction of CGE databases, model solving, and computer-assisted interpretation of results Shows how CGE modeling has made a contribution to economic policy

This book addresses major issues such as a growing world energy demand, environmental degradation due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and risk management of disastrous events such as pandemics, abnormal climate, and earthquakes. Using cutting-edge analytical tools, particularly computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling, the analyses are focused on a very wide range of policy-relevant economic questions for the Asia-Pacific region, especially for Japan, China, India, Vietnam, and smaller nations, including Brunei, Timor Leste, and Fiji. The first part considers (a) the effects of climate change on agriculture sectors, energy policies, and future GHG emission trends, (b) adaptation to climate changes in energy policy and its impacts on the economies, and (c) risk management of catastrophic events such as global pandemics. The second part examines (a) energy environmental issues, (b) economic impacts of natural disaster and depopulation, and (c) effects of informatics development on risk management, using CGE modelling and other methods in regional science fields. Contributors are internationally active leading CGE modellers and environmental economists. The book should be greatly beneficial for scholars and graduate students as well as policy makers who are interested in the economic effects and management of risks relating to climate change and disastrous events.