Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/12/2026 11:00 am - 4:30 pm
Location
University of Leeds
Audience:
NARTI In-Person Training & Development
Dynamic Macroeconomic Models & Simulation Workshop
Friday 4th December 2026
11.00-16.30 UK time
University of Leeds (room tbc)
Summary
This workshop introduces participants to small-scale dynamic macroeconomic models using computer simulations and analytical methods. In the first part of the workshop, participants will learn how to simulate canonical macroeconomic models in the open-source programming language R. The second part covers the mathematical techniques to analyse and solve dynamic economic models analytically. The sessions combine lectures introducing key concepts with hands-on laboratory exercises in which participants apply these concepts to simple macroeconomic models.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- simulate small-scale macroeconomic models in R
- conduct simulation experiments to study the effects of economic shocks;
- mathematically derive key properties of simple dynamic models.
These skills provide a foundation for building and analysing more advanced macroeconomic models used in contemporary academic research, such as Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models, Stock-Flow Consistent (SFC) models, and Agent-Based Models (ABMs).
Programme
Lecture 1: A simple example – Samuelson’s (1939) multiplier–accelerator business cycle model
Lab session 1: Simulating the multiplier–accelerator model in R
Lecture 2: Solving dynamic models analytically: systems of difference equations and their solution
Lab session 2: Formal analysis of the multiplier–accelerator model
Lecture 3: Complex eigenvalues and cycles
Lab session 3: Formal analysis of cycles in the multiplier–accelerator model
Lecture 4: Nonlinear dynamic systems
Lab session 4: Complete analysis of either a three-equation New Keynesian monetary policy model or a post-Keynesian conflict inflation model (selected by participant vote)
Prerequisites
Participants should have:
- basic familiarity with R programming (specifically, they should have completed the coding exercises in Chapter 1 of macrosimulation.org)
- familiarity with elementary algebra and introductory calculus
Location:
The workshop will take place either in a computer lab with R and RStudio available or in a teaching room where you will need to bring a laptop with R and RStudio installed. We will confirm this with you in due course.
Biography
Karsten Kohler is an Associate Professor in Economics at Leeds University Business School. His research crosses disciplinary boundaries and draws on macroeconomics, finance, and political economy. He is interested in the interaction between finance and the real economy; especially sources of macroeconomic cycles, instability, and rising inequality.
Karsten has published research on the distributional effects of energy-price driven inflation; the role of gross capital flows in financial instability; the interaction of business and financial cycles; the role of flexible exchange rates in emerging market business cycles; the effects of financialisation on income distribution; as well as the role of house price cycles in national growth models across countries. His work has been published in journals such as the Cambridge Journal of Economics, Energy Economics, Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, Journal of International Money and Finance, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, and Socio-Economic Review.
This workshop is highly interactive and requires you to be fully present for the duration. If you satisfy the prerequisites and can fully commit to participating, please register using the link at the top of this email.