Introduction to Computational Economics Using Fortran

Introduction to Computational Economics Using Fortran is the essential guide to conducting economic research on a computer. Aimed at students of all levels of education as well as advanced economic researchers, it facilitates the first steps into writing programs using Fortran.

Introduction to Computational Economics Using Fortran assumes no prior experience as it introduces the reader to this programming language. It shows the reader how to apply the most important numerical methods conducted by computational economists using the toolbox that accompanies this text. It offers various examples from economics and finance organized in self-contained chapters that speak to a diverse range of levels and academic backgrounds. Each topic is supported by an explanation of the theoretical background, a demonstration of how to implement the problem on the computer, and a discussion of simulation results. Readers can work through various exercises that promote practical experience and deepen their economic and technical insights.

This textbook is accompanied by a website from which readers can download all program codes as well as a numerical toolbox, and receive technical information on how to install Fortran on their computer.

Hans Fehr is Professor of Economics at the University of Wuerzburg. His previous roles have included Assistant Professor at the University of Tuebingen and Postdoctoral Researcher at Boston University. Professor Fehr's main research interests are in the field of quantitative public economics. His past work has focused on analyzing the economic consequences of population aging and various tax policy and social security reforms by means of computable general equilibrium models with overlapping generations. His research has been published in the European Economic Review the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, the Review of Economic Dynamics, and the Scandanavian Journal of Economics.

Fabian Kindermann is Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Bonn. He was previously a Postdoctoral Researcher at Northwestern University and an Assistant Professor at the University of Wuerzburg. His research interests are in public economics and macroeconomics, where he uses quantitative macroeconomic models to shed light on the determinants of economi inequality, study the implications of inequality for the optimal design of tax and social security systems, and investigate issues in family economics. His work has been published in the European Economic Review, Review of Economic Dynamics, Journal of Economic Dynamics, and Control and Computational Economics.

Part I: An Introduction to Fortran 90 and Numerical Methods
1. Fortran 90: A Simple Programming Language
2. Numerical Solution Methods
Part II: Computational Economics for Beginners
3. The Static General Equilibrium Model
4. Topics in Finance and Risk Management
5. The Life Cycle Model and Intertemporal Choics
6. The Overlapping Generations Model
7. Extending the OLG Model
Part III: Advanced Computational Economics
8. Introduction to Dynamic Programming
9. Dynamic Macro I: Infinite Horizon Models
10. Life-Cycle Choices and Risk
11. Dynamic Macro II: The Stochastic OLG Model