We perform econometric tests on a modified Goodwin model where the capital accumulation rate is constant but not necessarily equal to one as in the original model (Goodwin, ). In addition to this modification, we find that addressing the methodological and reporting issues in Harvie () leads to remarkably better results, with near perfect agreement between the estimates of equilibrium employment rates and the corresponding empirical averages, as well as significantly improved estimates of equilibrium wage shares. Despite its simplicity and obvious limitations, the performance of the modified Goodwin model implied by our results show that it can be used as a starting point for more sophisticated models for endogenous growth cycles.

We study an islanded microgrid system designed to supply a small village with the power produced by photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and a diesel generator. A battery storage system device is used to shift power from times of high renewable production to times of high demand.We build on the mathematical model introduced in Heymann et al. (2017) and optimize the diesel consumption under a "no-blackout" constraint. We introduce a methodology to solve microgrid management problem using different variants of Regression Monte Carlo algorithms and use numerical simulations to infer results about the optimal design of the grid. *

We consider solution of stochastic storage problems through regression Monte Carlo (RMC) methods. Taking a statistical learning perspective, we develop the dynamic emulation algorithm (DEA) that unifies the different existing approaches in a single modular template. We then investigate the two central aspects of regression architecture and experimental design that constitute DEA. For the regression piece, we discuss various non-parametric approaches, in particular introducing the use of Gaussian process regression in the context of stochastic storage. For simulation design, we compare the performance of traditional design (grid discretization), against space-filling, and several adaptive alternatives. The overall DEA template is illustrated with multiple examples drawing from natural gas storage valuation and optimal control of backup generator in a microgrid.

We revisit the results of Harvie (2000) and show how correcting for a reporting mistake in some of the estimated parameter values leads to significantly different conclusions, including realistic parameter values for the Philips curve and estimated equilibrium employment rates exhibiting on average one tenth of the relative error of those obtained in Harvie (2000).

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