A Decade of Applied General Equilibrium Modelling at the University of Melbourne

Abstract

a7 1982); namely, the development of the GEMPACK computer modelling environment. In Section 6 some significant applied GE developments with less of an ORANI focus are mentioned. Section 7 contains details of graduate student involvement: whilst viewing their professional formation as part of the "tool-kit" strains the analogy somewhat, this investment in human capital is of importance comparable to the methodological developments surveyed.2. Survey of review papers 2.1 Relationship of applied general equilibrium to macro models By the late 'seventies policy economists had become used to the idea that there was more than one sort of model available. Applied macro modellers and members of the newer school of applied general equilibrium economics behaved as if the other party simply did not exist. At the beginning of the decade under review I explored the scope for reconciliation between the two schools (Powell, 1981), and saw some hope of rapprochement between them. This was evident in the success of Cooper and McLaren (1980, 1982; see also Cooper, 1983, andPowell, 1985) in interfacing a small continuous-time macro model (RBII) with a large applied general equilibrium model (ORANI).Parsell, Powell and Wilcoxen (1989,1991) noted that the developments in theoretical open-economy macro models of the 1980s had been taken up by some applied workers (as in the Murphy Model by Chris Murphy and in the MSG2 Model by Warwick McKibbin and Jeffrey Sachs), and that this had considerably narrowed the gap between applied GE and macm-modelsconsequently, the chances for a synthesis of the two schools had never looked better. This was because the new applied macro modellers were insisting that their models converged over time to neo-classically interpretable steady states or balanced growth paths: this implied, among other things, that agents (including governments) were restrained by intertemporal budget constraints.Cooper and McLaren's work was recently revived using a modern macro model with rational expectations in financial markets (Breece. McLaren, Murphy and Powell, 1991). Although some conflicts in model design remained

Public Sector Support for Special Events

“…The behavior of agents in a CGE model is assumed to be sensitive to changes in relative prices, as well as quantity variables. Price rises will limit the extent of economic expansion associated with the event, and may even lead to contractions in economic activity in some sectors [Powell and Lawson 1989]. Thus, for example, changes in land values due to event development will impact the costs of other industries.…”

Kazakhstan:

“…The model is based on the Australian ORANI model developed by Dixon et al (1982). The ORANI-type model and its advancements have been applied in many countries (Ginting et al 2014, Wing 2004, Powell 1993, de Melo 1989, Decaluwe and Martens 1986, Partridge and Rickman 1998, Bandara 1991, Wijerathna 2015. Dixon and Jorgenson (2013) provided a comprehensive review of the use of CGE models in analyzing and supporting policy reforms.…”

Economies of Scale and Imperfect Competition in an Applied General Equilibrium Model of the Australian Economy

“…Our analysis builds on ORANI, an applied general equilibrium (AGE) model of the Australian economy (Dixon, Parmenter, Sutton and Vincent (DPSV), 1982). It has been widely used in Australia as a tool for practical policy analysis by academics, and by other private and public sector economists (Powell and Lawson, 1989).…”