This cumulative dissertation in theoretical macroeconomics presents five articles on deterministic, analytically tractable overlapping-generations models with two-period-lived agents and production. The microeconomic foundations are rooted in contract and game theory, while the analysis of macroeconomic dynamics builds on dynamical systems theory. Article 1 establishes that financial intermediation which provides efficient risk sharing cannot generate endogenous fluctuations. Article 2 examines how competition in the banking sector affects economic growth and welfare in the real sector. Article 3 investigates the impact of market power and strategic interaction in the capital market on savings, capital accumulation, and the qualitative dynamics. Article 4 introduces a novel parameterization of the production-possibility frontier in terms of wage-rental ratios that can enhance both the generality and tractability of two-sector growth models and allows for a refinement of the Rybczynski theorem. Building on this parameterization, Article 5 develops a tractable two-sector model with intergenerational pollution externalities to study the role of fiscal policy in steering the green transformation of an economy. The findings of this dissertation contribute to a deeper understanding of the determinants of economic growth, the sources of real business cycles, and normative welfare implications, while also providing recommendations for policymakers.
Paul Maximilian Ritschel (Thu,) studied this question.