A simple model of growth cycles with technology choice

In this study, we develop a simple, computable overlapping generations model that exhibits endogenous fluctuations. The key assumption is that a firm can choose from multiple technologies of production. Since the model reduces to a piecewise linear map on the unit interval, it allows us to conduct an in-depth analysis of its dynamic properties. Particularly, this piecewise linearization reveals the ability of the model to exhibit periodic attracting cycles of an arbitrarily large period as well as non-periodic attractors. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the occurrence of periodic patterns is completely characterized by the rotation number or the “devil's staircase.”