Simultaneous Adjustment of Quantities and Prices: An Example of Hamiltonian Dynamics

Paola Antonello

Economic Systems Research, 1999, vol. 11, issue 2, 139-162

Abstract: In a well-known essay first published in 1953, Goodwin analyzed the dynamic adjustment of quantities and prices to long-run equilibrium values, in a set ofn 'Walrasian' markets. He treated the crossed adjustment of prices and quantities as a linear Hamiltonian vector field. In more recent work, Goodwin introduced non-linear perturbations in his multi-sectoral adjustment model. He assumed that real consumption depends non-linearly on relative prices. This paper shows the following: (1) Goodwin's behavioural hypotheses are compatible with the assumption that agents maximize; (2) if the dynamic process is Hamiltonian, then symplectic coordinate changes are essential tools of analysis; (3) if the real wage is rigid and returns to scale are not constant, then the Hamiltonian model can generate chaotic transients or, in extreme cases, pure chaotic motions.

Keywords: Nonlinearity; multi-sectoral; Hamiltonian dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09535319900000011 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ecsysr:v:11:y:1999:i:2:p:139-162

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CESR20

DOI: 10.1080/09535319900000011

Access Statistics for this article

Economic Systems Research is currently edited by Bart Los and Manfred Lenzen

More articles in Economic Systems Research from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().