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Unpacking a classic graduate text on dynamic general equilibrium

If you’ve ever tried to self-study modern macroeconomics at the PhD level, you’ve likely encountered a rite of passage: Costas Azariadis’s Intertemporal Macroeconomics . First published in 1993 (and still highly relevant), this book bridges the gap between static Keynesian models and the dynamic, micro-founded world of rational expectations.

This is the famous “Samuelson-Diamond” result, and page 33 often contains the first algebraic step where the “golden rule” level of capital (or consumption) is contrasted with the market outcome.

Page 33 falls in Chapter 2, typically titled “The Overlapping Generations Model” – the workhorse framework for studying intertemporal choice without infinite horizons. Unlike the Ramsey model (where a social planner maximizes welfare forever), OLG models allow for finite-lived agents who interact across generations.

Here’s a sample blog post: Diving into Dynamics: What Page 33 of Azariadis’s Intertemporal Macroeconomics Teaches Us