Introduction to the stability of rational expectations equilibrium

Abstract

This paper surveys the literature which examines the stability of the expectations that agents are assumed to have in a rational expectations equilibrium (REE). This issue is more complex than the usual statistical estimation problem because the relationship between observable variables and payoff relevant variables is endogenous. One approach taken in the literature yields convergence to a REE but requires agents to have extensive knowledge about the structure and dynamics of the model that prevails while they learn. A second approach does not assume that agents have correctly specified likelihood functions and finds that REE may not be stable.