Structure and Dynamics in Tirade Flows Models

Abstract

7)-ade flows modelling has its origin in the empirical work of Cox, Goodman, and Fichandler (1965) in estimating dollar flows between sectors in the U.S. macromarketing system in 1947. Subsequently, similar estimates have been published forAustralia, provincial Java, and, in this issue of the Journal, for the United States, The Netherlands, and West Germany. This article is concerned with alternative specifications of structure in trade flows models and then with exploring the possibilities opened up by alternative structural specifications in building dynamic variation into an otherwise static or equilibrium model. After an initial examination of system stability in the face of external shocks, a tentative conclusion is reached that for most highly interconnected systems of the kind being studied there is a considerable degree of stability in system behavior.