View Proposal #407
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| ID | 407 |
|---|---|
| First Name | Kenneth |
| Last Name | Driessel |
| Institution | Iowa State University |
| Speaker Category | other |
| Title of Talk | Business cycles and predator-prey ordinary differential equations |
| Abstract | Richard M. Goodwin (1913-1996) was an American mathematician and economist. During most of his career he taught at the University of Cambridge. Goodwin studied economic growth and the business cycle. In 1967 he published a paper with title "A Growth Cycle". In this paper he described an economic model consisting of two nonlinear first order ordinary differential equations that exhibits cyclic behavior. This system is similar to the well-known system of predator-prey equations of Lotka and Volterra. Goodwin seems to have had mixed opinions about his system. He writes (in 1967): "Presented here is a starkly schematized and hence quite unrealistic model of cycles in growth rates." He also writes (in 1972): "[These assumptions] were chosen because they represent, in my opinion, the most essential dynamic aspects of capitalism; furthermore, they are factually based, to the order of accuracy implicit in such a model." In this talk, I shall present my version of Goodwin's growth cycle system. |
| Subject area(s) | economics, ordinary differential equations |
| Suitable for undergraduates? | Y |
| Day Preference | none |
| Computer Needed? | Y |
| Bringing a laptop? | Y |
| Overhead Needed? | N |
| Software requests | |
| Special Needs | |
| Date Submitted | 10/01/2014 |
| Year | 2014 |