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 | | Recursive Macroeconomic Theory by Lars Ljungqvist, Thomas J. Sargent ISBN-10: 0262194511 ISBN-10: 0-262-19451-1 ISBN-13: 9780262194518 ISBN-13: 978-0-262-19451-8 Hardcover 2000-08-21 The MIT Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Book Description Recursive methods offer a powerful approach in dynamic macroeconomics. This book contains both an introduction to recursive tools, including standard applications such as asset pricing, and advanced material, including analyses of reputational mechanisms and contract design. The tools are presented with enough technical sophistication to get the reader started working on practical problems. When numerical simulations are called for, the book provides suggestions for how to proceed, as well as references for further reading. The applications cover many substantive issues in macroeconomics, such as equilibrium asset prices, market incompleteness, wealth distribution, fiscal-monetary theories of inflation, government debt, optimal labor and capital taxation, time consistency and credible government policies, optimal social insurance, economic growth, and labor market dynamics. | ||
Reviews | ||
A book for Econometricians rather than Macroeconomists The book is certainly written by distinguished people, but it seems to me that their focus in writting this book was more to exhibit mathematical methods to solve problems rather than discuss the problems themselves. Apparently the book is meant for training mathematical skills in dynamic programming, and prepare you for computer simulations of macroeconomic problems. But don't use it for understanding macroeconomics. In general, the authors get into mathematical discussions that divert attention from the problem itself, and at the same time they don't explain why they are doing all these. Reading the book needs a lot of background knowledge and self-intuition. Apart from that some chapters are educational and fit for class work. The first chapters cover mathematical basics about random process and Markov chains and estimation. They are the good chapters. The chapters on partial equilibrium, complete markets ad incomplete markets are also the ones that are noramlly used in class lectures. The book's coverage of consumption theory and economic growth is weak and insufficient. I would recommend Romer or Blanchard&Fisher book for that. The chapter on search and job matching is also simplistic and again not enough. In most of the chapters, technicality dominates concepts, so having a complementary textbook can be great help. For one thing, the book has a lot of misprints and mistakes too, which seem to be fixed in the newer edition. | ||
get it free This is a great book. But you can download the second addition free on Sargent's website, so I wouldn't recommend buying it. | ||
Perfect book This is a perfect book for three reasons; i) it is perfect for those who wish to learn modern macroeconomics. The book develops necessary knowledge and tools to be applied to dynamic economics, ii) Sargent is one of most prominent and leading macroeconomists of the world, and he should be Nobel prize winner in Economics, iii) the book is published by MIT. | ||
Not for beginners When I recently left my job as cryer in a grim, north-eastern town, I was made the head of recursive macroeconomic theory at a major international bank. I could have done with a simpler introduction than this, to be honest, as my knowledge of RMT was limited. But now I hold my own in meetings simply by spouting a few long words from this book (mainly "macroeconomic" and "recursive" - theory doesn't seem to impress as much) and delegating to underlings. | ||
Not the first book in Dynamic Macro, but excellent afterward The first time i read the book, i'm sure this should not be the first text book for Dynamic Macroeconomics everyone should read. It's better to read somewhere else as an introduction to the idea of dynamic macroeconomics. Romer 'Advanced Macroeconomics' and Stokey, Lucas, Prescott 'Recursive Methods' are more appropriate to start. After gainning some similarity with Dynamic Methods, it would be much better to study models about macroeconomics presented in the book. This book is the presentations of various models using Dynamic / Recursive Macroeconomics. It makes them easier and time-saving to study many kinds of model in a semester. It's GOOD & HELPFUL IN THIS SENSE. However, it might not be a good book for study in depth. You are better to study from the original papers for the same topics. I think, this book is similar to Tirole 'Theory of Industrial Organization' in spirit, but different in content. They both show the simplified version of various models in the fields. If you think you like this style, you would like to have it. But if you don't, it might be better just to skim (from the library) and read the original papers. Hope this comment would be helpful for you to make a decision :) | ||