Constructing pure-exchange economies with many equilibria

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Theory
Year: 2022
Volume: 73
Issue: 2
Pages: 541-564

Authors (3)

Pascal Gauthier (not in RePEc) Timothy J. Kehoe (National Bureau of Economic Re...) Erwan Quintin (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Abstract We develop a restart algorithm based on Scarf’s (The Computation of Economic Equilibria, Yale University Press, 1973) algorithm for computing approximate Brouwer fixed points. We use the algorithm to compute all of the equilibria of a general equilibrium pure-exchange model with four consumers, four goods, and 15 equilibria. The mathematical result that motivates the algorithm is a fixed-point index theorem that provides a sufficient condition for uniqueness of equilibrium and a necessary condition for multiplicity of equilibria. Examining the structure of the model with 15 equilibria provides us with a method for constructing higher dimensional models with even more equilibria. For example, using our method, we can construct a pure-exchange economy with eight consumers and eight goods that has (at least) 255 equilibria.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:joecth:v:73:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s00199-021-01406-0
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25