Open research questions in Economic theories and models
274 gap statements mined from Economic theories and models papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 2,287 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
The paper suggests that future research could focus on empirical applications of the theoretical model. The paper implies that further analysis of the dynamics of real savings per capita could be fruitful. The paper does not provide explicit suggestions for future research directions.
Existence and calculation of optimal monetary equilibria on overlapping generations economies · 2026 · DOIThe paper notes that prior work has focused on the efficiency of equilibria, but not their existence. The paper aims to fill this gap by providing sufficient conditions for the existence of optimal monetary equilibria.
Existence and calculation of optimal monetary equilibria on overlapping generations economies · 2026 · DOIThe paper suggests that future research should focus on developing new models that can address the challenges posed by a depressed natural real interest rate. The paper also suggests that future research should focus on analyzing the potential practical implications of the model.
The paper identifies a gap in the literature on the challenges of macroeconomic policy when the natural real interest rate is persistently depressed. The paper argues that the traditional response to this challenge is not sufficient to address the challenge.
The lack of tools that combine quantitative risk analysis with classical economic assumptions. The lack of tools that account for the strength of market fluctuations.
The lack of conditions for finite inference in the equilibrium setting. The lack of a learning algorithm to infer individual choices and equilibrium prices.
Future research can apply the Symboken Theory to real-world scenarios. It can explore the implications of symbolic inflation for the economy. The theory can be used to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy.
The paper identifies a need to consider a loss-averse version of the multiplicative habit formation preference.
The existing finite difference scheme for numerically solving the associated PDE systems has limitations. Deep learning techniques have been employed for high-dimensional settings, but the paper introduces a semi-Lagrangian scheme as an alternative. The paper identifies the need for a comparison principle for constrained viscosity solutions of the HJB equation.
A Semi-Lagrangian Method for Solving State Constraint Mean Field Games in Macroeconomics · 2026 · DOIIt highlights the need for a more monetary argument for efficiency gains from fractional reserve banking. The gap also includes the lack of consideration of interest payments on inside money in estimating welfare costs of inflation.
Nonetheless, local dependence (LD) remains an open problem, with somewhat blurred boundaries due to the lack of a general framework for dealing with the different notions of dependence that have been suggested in the literature.
At the high-level, our results show that scenarios for which approximate ties between utilities of agents are frequent are most favorable for non-monetary mechanisms; this intuition is further quantified by corresponding social welfare gap characterizations. On the algorithmic side, we propose unified resource allocation mechanisms (PUM) based on the promised utility framework.
The gap in the literature is the need for a generalized notion of arbitrage that can handle more general pricing rules. Prior work has focused on sublinear pricing, but recent advances have extended the framework to encompass more general pricing rules. The paper identifies the need for a framework that can operate under minimal assumptions.
We show that in this setting (a) the economy may get stuck in a high-unemployment steady state, (b) the Taylor principle is insufficient to eliminate the local indeterminacy of the intended steady state, and (c) nominal rigidities and inincomplete markets are complementary in terms of amplifying the impact of shocks on the macroeconomy.
Under the conditions of excessive concentration of capital and of pro duction, the few hundred state firms enjoying a monopolistic position are in a very strong position vis-a-vis the government in bargaining over subsidies and wringing exceptions from financial rules and, therefore, they are insufficiently dependent on their market performance.
Further research could explore the empirical implications of the model. Further research could examine the impact of other market imperfections on trading activity.
The Skorokhod representation theorem does not necessarily preserve the adaptedness of stochastic processes. The solution to a problem obtained on a new probability space may bear little resemblance to the original problem on the initial probability space.
Students accept the First Law/Energy Conservation Principle but have difficulty learning and understanding the Second Law, entropy, entropy generation, and their consequences.
Analogy to help learn and understand the second law of thermodynamics, entropy, entropy generation, irreversibility, and power cycles · 2024 · DOIThe paper notes that the market-clearing approach to macroeconomics abstracts from involuntary unemployment, which is a major policy issue in Western countries.
The increasingly difficult to defend assumptions of modern quantitative finance, - The lack of a deeper theoretical framework for modern quantitative…
The potential dynamic inconsistency problem in the design of assisted return policies, - The lack of consideration of the long-term effects of these policies on the attractiveness of the host country, - The need for a theoretical model to analyze the optimal choice of generosity for assisted return…
No paper in this set validates or refutes classical economic theories of inequality (Cobb-Douglas, growth models, capital-labor substitution) against a unified dataset spanning the last 100 years and then extends those validated theories to forecast inequality under AI.
None of these studies applies formal economic theory (Cobb-Douglas utility, growth models, or capital-labor dynamics) to predict inequality outcomes under AI adoption in the next 100 years.
The paper argues that introducing capital market imperfections can resolve many of the problems, though some issues remain, and further research is warranted ‘The hypothesis of utility maximisation (and perfect markets) has, all by itself, one very powerful implication—the resources that a representative consumer allocates to consumption at any age…
The lack of a general theory of the economy that integrates micro-economic principles - The need for a more radical departure from the neoclassical…
Most-cited papers in Economic theories and models
- The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics · The Review of Economic Studies · 1980 · 7,045 citations
- A Theory of the Allocation of Time · The Economic Journal · 1965 · 6,018 citations
- A Mathematical Theory of Saving · The Economic Journal · 1928 · 3,472 citations
- An Estimated Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model of the Euro Area · Journal of the European Economic Association · 2003 · 2,354 citations
- Quantitative Input and Output Relations in the Economic Systems of the United States · The Review of Economics and Statistics · 1936 · 2,188 citations
- With or Without U? The Appropriate Test for a U-Shaped Relationship* · Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics · 2009 · 2,089 citations
- Capital Market Equilibrium with Restricted Borrowing · The Journal of Business · 1972 · 2,003 citations
- Stochastic Implications of the Life Cycle-Permanent Income Hypothesis: Theory and Evidence · Journal of Political Economy · 1978 · 1,863 citations
- Uninsured Idiosyncratic Risk and Aggregate Saving · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · 1994 · 1,792 citations
- On the Existence of an Optimal Capital Structure: Theory and Evidence · The Journal of Finance · 1984 · 1,422 citations
Most recent work
- A Theory of Supply Function Choice and Aggregate Supply · American Economic Review · 2026
- The Illiquidity of Water Markets · The Review of Economic Studies · 2026
- Dynamic complementarities and multiple equilibria in open economies with collateral constraints · Economic Theory · 2026
- The delay Solow model with the Lambert W function · Mathematics and Computers in Simulation · 2026
- The Section 8 (F)influencer economy · Geoforum · 2026
- Experimental currency units in investment tasks · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · 2026
- Making and breaking promises: On the voluntary provision of public goods under cost uncertainty · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · 2026
- On the Modeling of Local Dependence · Psychometrika · 2026
- Should Monetary Policy Care about Redistribution? Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy with Heterogeneous Agents · The Review of Economic Studies · 2026
- From theory to observation: Swampland conjectures and ACT constraints on marginally deformed R2 inflation · Physics Letters B · 2026
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