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# Optimal Growth III: The Endogenous Grid Method¶

## Overview¶

We solved the stochastic optimal growth model using

We found time iteration to be significantly more accurate at each step

In this lecture we’ll look at an ingenious twist on the time iteration technique called the endogenous grid method (EGM)

EGM is a numerical method for implementing policy iteration invented by Chris Carroll

It is a good example of how a clever algorithm can save a massive amount of computer time

(Massive when we multiply saved CPU cycles on each implementation times the number of implementations worldwide)

The original reference is [Car06]

## Key Idea¶

Let’s start by reminding ourselves of the theory and then see how the numerics fit in

### Theory¶

Take the model set out in the time iteration lecture, following the same terminology and notation

The Euler equation is

$$(u'\circ c^*)(y) = \beta \int (u'\circ c^*)(f(y - c^*(y)) z) f'(y - c^*(y)) z \phi(dz) \tag{1}$$

As we saw, the Coleman operator is a nonlinear operator $K$ engineered so that $c^*$ is a fixed point of $K$

It takes as its argument a continuous strictly increasing consumption policy $g \in \Sigma$

It returns a new function $Kg$, where $(Kg)(y)$ is the $c \in (0, \infty)$ that solves

$$u'(c) = \beta \int (u' \circ g) (f(y - c) z ) f'(y - c) z \phi(dz) \tag{2}$$

### Exogenous Grid¶

As discussed in the lecture on time iteration, to implement the method on a computer we need numerical approximation

In particular, we represent a policy function by a set of values on a finite grid

The function itself is reconstructed from this representation when necessary, using interpolation or some other method

Previously, to obtain a finite representation of an updated consumption policy we

• fixed a grid of income points $\{y_i\}$
• calculated the consumption value $c_i$ corresponding to each $y_i$ using (2) and a root finding routine

Each $c_i$ is then interpreted as the value of the function $K g$ at $y_i$

Thus, with the points $\{y_i, c_i\}$ in hand, we can reconstruct $Kg$ via approximation

Iteration then continues…

### Endogenous Grid¶

The method discussed above requires a root finding routine to find the $c_i$ corresponding to a given income value $y_i$

Root finding is costly because it typically involves a significant number of function evaluations

As pointed out by Carroll [Car06], we can avoid this if $y_i$ is chosen endogenously

The only assumption required is that $u'$ is invertible on $(0, \infty)$

The idea is this:

First we fix an exogenous grid $\{k_i\}$ for capital ($k = y - c$)

Then we obtain $c_i$ via

$$c_i = (u')^{-1} \left\{ \beta \int (u' \circ g) (f(k_i) z ) \, f'(k_i) \, z \, \phi(dz) \right\} \tag{3}$$

where $(u')^{-1}$ is the inverse function of $u'$

Finally, for each $c_i$ we set $y_i = c_i + k_i$

It is clear that each $(y_i, c_i)$ pair constructed in this manner satisfies (2)

With the points $\{y_i, c_i\}$ in hand, we can reconstruct $Kg$ via approximation as before

The name EGM comes from the fact that the grid $\{y_i\}$ is determined endogenously

## Implementation¶

Let’s implement this version of the Coleman operator and see how it performs

### The Operator¶

Here’s an implementation of $K$ using EGM as described above

In [1]:
import numpy as np

def coleman_egm(g, k_grid, β, u_prime, u_prime_inv, f, f_prime, shocks):
"""
The approximate Coleman operator, updated using the endogenous grid
method.

Parameters
----------
g : function
The current guess of the policy function
k_grid : array_like(float, ndim=1)
The set of *exogenous* grid points, for capital k = y - c
β : scalar
The discount factor
u_prime : function
The derivative u'(c) of the utility function
u_prime_inv : function
The inverse of u' (which exists by assumption)
f : function
The production function f(k)
f_prime : function
The derivative f'(k)
shocks : numpy array
An array of draws from the shock, for Monte Carlo integration (to
compute expectations).

"""

# Allocate memory for value of consumption on endogenous grid points
c = np.empty_like(k_grid)

# Solve for updated consumption value
for i, k in enumerate(k_grid):
vals = u_prime(g(f(k) * shocks)) * f_prime(k) * shocks
c[i] = u_prime_inv(β * np.mean(vals))

# Determine endogenous grid
y = k_grid + c  # y_i = k_i + c_i

# Update policy function and return
Kg = lambda x: np.interp(x, y, c)
return Kg


Note the lack of any root finding algorithm

We’ll also run our original implementation, which uses an exogenous grid and requires root finding, so we can perform some comparisons

In [2]:
import numpy as np
from scipy.optimize import brentq

def coleman_operator(g, grid, β, u_prime, f, f_prime, shocks, Kg=None):
"""
The approximate Coleman operator, which takes an existing guess g of the
optimal consumption policy and computes and returns the updated function
Kg on the grid points.  An array to store the new set of values Kg is
optionally supplied (to avoid having to allocate new arrays at each
iteration).  If supplied, any existing data in Kg will be overwritten.

Parameters
----------
g : array_like(float, ndim=1)
The value of the input policy function on grid points
grid : array_like(float, ndim=1)
The set of grid points
β : scalar
The discount factor
u_prime : function
The derivative u'(c) of the utility function
f : function
The production function f(k)
f_prime : function
The derivative f'(k)
shocks : numpy array
An array of draws from the shock, for Monte Carlo integration (to
compute expectations).
Kg : array_like(float, ndim=1) optional (default=None)
Array to write output values to

"""
# === Apply linear interpolation to g === #
g_func = lambda x: np.interp(x, grid, g)

# == Initialize Kg if necessary == #
if Kg is None:
Kg = np.empty_like(g)

# == solve for updated consumption value
for i, y in enumerate(grid):
def h(c):
vals = u_prime(g_func(f(y - c) * shocks)) * f_prime(y - c) * shocks
return u_prime(c) - β * np.mean(vals)
c_star = brentq(h, 1e-10, y - 1e-10)
Kg[i] = c_star

return Kg


Let’s test out the code above on some example parameterizations, after the following imports

In [3]:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
import quantecon as qe


### Testing on the Log / Cobb–Douglas case¶

As we did for value function iteration and time iteration, let’s start by testing our method with the log-linear benchmark

The first step is to bring in the log-linear growth model that we used in the value function iteration lecture

In [4]:
class LogLinearOG:
"""
Log linear optimal growth model, with log utility, CD production and
multiplicative lognormal shock, so that

y = f(k, z) = z k^α

with z ~ LN(μ, s).

The class holds parameters and true value and policy functions.
"""

def __init__(self, α=0.4, β=0.96, μ=0, s=0.1):

self.α, self.β, self.μ, self.s = α, β, μ, s

# == Some useful constants == #
self.ab = α * β
self.c1 = np.log(1 - self.ab) / (1 - β)
self.c2 = (μ + α * np.log(self.ab)) / (1 - α)
self.c3 = 1 / (1 - β)
self.c4 = 1 / (1 - self.ab)

def u(self, c):
" Utility "
return np.log(c)

def u_prime(self, c):
return 1 / c

def f(self, k):
" Deterministic part of production function.  "
return k**self.α

def f_prime(self, k):
return self.α * k**(self.α - 1)

def c_star(self, y):
" True optimal policy.  "
return (1 - self.α * self.β) * y

def v_star(self, y):
" True value function. "
return self.c1 + self.c2 * (self.c3 - self.c4) + self.c4 * np.log(y)


Next we generate an instance

In [5]:
lg = LogLinearOG()

# == Unpack parameters / functions for convenience == #
α, β, μ, s = lg.α, lg.β, lg.μ, lg.s
v_star, c_star = lg.v_star, lg.c_star
u, u_prime, f, f_prime = lg.u, lg.u_prime, lg.f, lg.f_prime


We also need a grid over capital and some shock draws for Monte Carlo integration

In [6]:
grid_max = 4         # Largest grid point, exogenous grid
grid_size = 200      # Number of grid points
shock_size = 250     # Number of shock draws in Monte Carlo integral

k_grid = np.linspace(1e-5, grid_max, grid_size)
shocks = np.exp(μ + s * np.random.randn(shock_size))


As a preliminary test, let’s see if $K c^* = c^*$, as implied by the theory

In [7]:
c_star_new = coleman_egm(c_star,
k_grid, β, u_prime, u_prime, f, f_prime, shocks)

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9, 6))

ax.plot(k_grid, c_star(k_grid), label="optimal policy $c^*$")
ax.plot(k_grid, c_star_new(k_grid), label="$Kc^*$")

ax.legend(loc='upper left')
plt.show()


Notice that we’re passing u_prime to coleman_egm twice

The reason is that, in the case of log utility, $u'(c) = (u')^{-1}(c) = 1/c$

Hence u_prime and u_prime_inv are the same

We can’t really distinguish the two plots

In fact it’s easy to see that the difference is essentially zero:

In [8]:
max(abs(c_star_new(k_grid) - c_star(k_grid)))

Out[8]:
9.881666666666672e-06

Next let’s try iterating from an arbitrary initial condition and see if we converge towards $c^*$

Let’s start from the consumption policy that eats the whole pie: $c(y) = y$

In [9]:
g = lambda x: x
n = 15
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9, 6))
lb = 'initial condition $c(y) = y$'

ax.plot(k_grid, g(k_grid), color=plt.cm.jet(0), lw=2, alpha=0.6, label=lb)

for i in range(n):
new_g = coleman_egm(g, k_grid, β, u_prime, u_prime, f, f_prime, shocks)
g = new_g
ax.plot(k_grid, g(k_grid), color=plt.cm.jet(i / n), lw=2, alpha=0.6)

lb = 'true policy function $c^*$'
ax.plot(k_grid, c_star(k_grid), 'k-', lw=2, alpha=0.8, label=lb)
ax.legend(loc='upper left')

plt.show()


We see that the policy has converged nicely, in only a few steps

## Speed¶

Now let’s compare the clock times per iteration for the standard Coleman operator (with exogenous grid) and the EGM version

We’ll do so using the CRRA model adopted in the exercises of the Euler equation time iteration lecture

Here’s the model and some convenient functions

In [10]:
## Define the model

α = 0.65
β = 0.95
μ = 0
s = 0.1
grid_min = 1e-6
grid_max = 4
grid_size = 200
shock_size = 250

γ = 1.5   # Preference parameter
γ_inv = 1 / γ

def f(k):
return k**α

def f_prime(k):
return α * k**(α - 1)

def u(c):
return (c**(1 - γ) - 1) / (1 - γ)

def u_prime(c):
return c**(-γ)

def u_prime_inv(c):
return c**(-γ_inv)

k_grid = np.linspace(grid_min, grid_max, grid_size)
shocks = np.exp(μ + s * np.random.randn(shock_size))

## Let's make convenience functions based around these primitives

def crra_coleman(g):
return coleman_operator(g, k_grid, β, u_prime, f, f_prime, shocks)

def crra_coleman_egm(g):
return coleman_egm(g, k_grid, β, u_prime, u_prime_inv, f, f_prime, shocks)


Here’s the result

In [11]:
## Iterate, compare policies

sim_length = 20

print("Timing standard Coleman policy function iteration")
g_init = k_grid
g = g_init
qe.util.tic()
for i in range(sim_length):
new_g = crra_coleman(g)
g = new_g
qe.util.toc()

print("Timing policy function iteration with endogenous grid")
g_init_egm = lambda x: x
g = g_init_egm
qe.util.tic()
for i in range(sim_length):
new_g = crra_coleman_egm(g)
g = new_g
qe.util.toc()

Timing standard Coleman policy function iteration
TOC: Elapsed: 0:00:2.07
Timing policy function iteration with endogenous grid
TOC: Elapsed: 0:00:0.17

Out[11]:
0.17744779586791992

We see that the EGM version is more than 6 times faster

At the same time, the absence of numerical root finding means that it is typically more accurate at each step as well

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