785. Path dependence, distributive cycles and export capacity in a BoPC growth model

Working paper N. 785 Ottobre 2018

Marwil J. Dávila-Fernández

DEPS, USiena

Serena Sordi

DEPS, USiena

Abstract

In a recent article, we extended Goodwin's (1967) model to study the interaction between distributive cycles and international trade for economies in which growth is balance-of-payments constrained (BoPC). Building on that set up, we investigate the implications of allowing exports to be a function of the capital stock. Using the existence part of the Hopf bifurcation theorem, we show that the resulting 3-dimensional system admits a limit cycle solution. We rely on numerical simulations to verify if fluctuations are persistent and bounded. Applying panel cointegration techniques, we also provide empirical evidence for a sample of 19 OECD countries between 1950-2014 that gives support to the formulation adopted for the exports function. Our main contribution lies in providing a simple base-line model to study distributive dynamics in open economies in line with recent developments in the BoPC growth literature.

Keywords

Growth cycle, Path dependence, Thirlwall’s law, Distributive cycles, Hopf bifurcation, Cointegration.

Jel Codes

E12; E32; O40