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Optimal investment with vintage capital: Equilibrium distributions

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  • Faggian, Silvia
  • Gozzi, Fausto
  • Kort, Peter M.

Abstract

The paper concerns the study of equilibrium points, or steady states, of economic systems arising in modeling optimal investment with vintage capital, namely, systems where all key variables (capitals, investments, prices) are indexed not only by time but also by age. Capital accumulation is hence described as a partial differential equation (briefly, PDE), and equilibrium points are in fact equilibrium distributions in the variable of ages. A general method is developed to compute and study equilibrium points of a wide range of infinite dimensional, infinite horizon, optimal control problems. We apply the method to optimal investment with vintage capital, for a variety of data, deriving existence and uniqueness of equilibrium distribution, as well as analytic formulas for optimal controls and trajectories in the long run. The examples suggest that the same method can be applied to other economic problems displaying heterogeneity. This shows how effective the theoretical machinery of optimal control in infinite dimension is in computing explicitly equilibrium distributions. To this extent, the results of this work constitute a first crucial step towards a thorough understanding of the behavior of optimal paths in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Faggian, Silvia & Gozzi, Fausto & Kort, Peter M., 2021. "Optimal investment with vintage capital: Equilibrium distributions," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:mateco:v:96:y:2021:i:c:s0304406821000793
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmateco.2021.102516
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    1. Xepapadeas, Anastasios & Yannacopoulos, Athanasios N., 2023. "Spatial growth theory: Optimality and spatial heterogeneity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Equilibrium points; Optimal investment; Vintage capital; Age-structured systems; Optimal control in infinite dimension; Maximum Principle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity

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