22nd Workshop on Economic Modeling: Computable General Equilibrium Analysis of International Trade and Tariff Disruptions using GTAPinGAMS and MPSGE
Instructors:
Prof. Edward J. Balistreri
Prof. Christoph Böhringer
Ass. Prof. Casiano Manrique
Responses to global challenges such as international trade conflicts or climate change should be based on the systematic impact assessment of alternative policy options. The economic analysis of policies affecting markets in multiple countries requires both data and theory. We provide computational tools developed in the GAMS modeling language to extract the GTAP database of the global economy. We use empirical GTAP data for computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis facilitated by MPSGE as a meta-language to implement CGE models in a compact non-algebraic manner. The workshop will demonstrate the practical usefulness of CGE analysis by means of policy-relevant applications to carbon tariffs in climate policy, disruptive trade policies, and supply chain shocks The explicit algebraic formulation of general equilibrium conditions and the parameterization of functional forms to characterize technologies and preferences can become very tedious and error-prone, in particular for more complex production and consumption patterns. MPSGE (Mathematical Programming System for General Equilibrium) provides a short-hand non-algebraic representation for general equilibrium models releasing economists from the need to write down complicated equilibrium conditions explicitly as well as from the need to set up tedious calibration routines for the parameterization of demand and supply functions.
The workshop will show in detail how to transform algebraic CGE models into non-algebraic MPSGE syntax which can substantially lower the entry barriers and time cost of CGE analysis n both – algebraic and non-algebraic – cases, CGE models are stated as mixed complementarity problems (MCP) which link equilibrium conditions as nonlinear inequalities with complementary non-negative economic variables. The fundamental strength of CGE models implemented as MCP is the ability to handle corner solutions and regime shifts that might be central to the analysis of discrete production decisions (e.g. firm location) or the selection of international value chains (e.g. switching of trade links).
Part 1: Economic Equilibrium and Mixed Complementarity Problems (MCP)
Part 2: Empirical trade theories and data management using GTAPinGAMS
Part 3: Standard CGE trade models for policy analysis
Part 4: Advanced trade structures and large-scale applications
Part 5: Advanced trade policy applications and exercises
(Advanced trade structures: including Krugman (1980), Melitz (2003) and Bilateral Representative Firms (BRF); industrial carbon tariffs, optimal tariffs and trade wars, CO2 emissions embodied in bilateral trade, and trade models for CBAM analysis, are among the specific topics to be covered)
Enrolment is limited to 15 participants to ensure efficient, close interaction. For further information, please visit https://wem.ulpgc.es/ , or check the ‘Take a GAMS course’ section at https://www.gams.com/ .
The registration deadline is March, 13, 2026.
