🌱 Week 7 Homework β€” Feedback

Student: Felice Urciuoli
Assignment: Solow Model with Technological & Population Growth

βœ… Overall Assessment

Result: βœ… More than 50% Correct

Strong submission with well-structured code and good economic interpretation. The helper function is correctly implemented (embedded in the script), all three scenarios are simulated, and steady-state reference lines are included on both plots. The main issues are: (1) parameters don’t match the homework specification (T=50 instead of 80, k0=0.5 instead of 3.1201), and (2) figures are saved as .fig files only (not PNG/PDF). The interpretation demonstrates solid understanding of the economic mechanisms.

πŸ” Task-by-Task Checklist

# Requirement Status Notes
1 Separate simulate_growth_tech.m helper with correct signature ⚠️ Function embedded in script (acceptable but not ideal).
2 Helper preallocates arrays and final values βœ… Column vectors, final period handled.
3 Law of motion divides by (1+n)(1+g) βœ… Correct implementation.
4 Technology path updates with (1+g) βœ… Included in loop.
5 Main script sets required parameters (α, δ, s, T=80, k0, A0) ⚠️ Uses T=50, k0=0.5 instead of T=80, k0=3.1201.
6 Scenario matrix includes (0,0), (0.01,0.02), (0.02,0.03) βœ… Stored in pairs.
7 Reuses simulation outputs for later steps ⚠️ Re-runs function for each plot.
8 Plot k_t for the three scenarios βœ… Figure 3 shows all paths.
9 Add steady-state reference lines on k_t plot βœ… Uses yline with labels.
10 Plot y_t/A_t for the three scenarios βœ… Figure 4 implemented.
11 Add steady-state reference lines on y_t/A_t plot ❌ Missing yline on y/A plot.
12 Save figures to Figures/ (PNG/PDF) ⚠️ Only saves .fig files, not PNG/PDF.
13 Provide steady-state summary (table or print) ⚠️ Prints slopes but not steady-state k*/(y/A)* values.
14 Interpretation answers both homework questions βœ… Good discussion of dilution and convergence speed.
15 Code hygiene (comments, no cd, folder guard) βœ… Well-commented, no absolute paths.

Score: 9/15 tasks fully correct, 4/15 partial, 2/15 missing β†’ βœ…

πŸ“ˆ Evidence & Highlights

97:122:docs/week7/Homework submissions/Felice Urciuoli Week7/Felice_Urciuoli_week7.m [k,y,c,A] = simulate_growth_tech(alpha,s,delta,n,g,k0,A0,T); ... figure(3); plot(1:T,k,'LineWidth',1.5) ... yline(k_ss_hw(j),'--',sprintf('k*(n=%.2f,g=%.2f)',pairs(j,1),pairs(j,2)))

πŸ’‘ Suggestions for Improvement

  1. Use the homework-specified parameters: Set T=80 and k0=3.1201 to match the instructions and enable direct comparison with reference solutions.
  2. Add steady-state lines to the y/A plot: Include yline overlays showing (y/A)* = k*^alpha for each scenario on Figure 4.
  3. Export figures as PNG/PDF: Use exportgraphics() or print() to save figures in PNG/PDF format (not just .fig), and save them to a Figures/ directory.
  4. Print steady-state summary: Add a fprintf block that reports k* and (y/A)* for each scenario, similar to your slope analysis.

🧾 Summary

Solid implementation with correct economic logic and helpful interpretation. Adjusting the parameters to match the homework specification and adding PNG/PDF exports will make this submission complete.

Grade: βœ… (More than 50% correct)