Journal of Economic Literature Vol. 64 No. 3 2026
Deep Learning for Solving Economic Models
Abstract
The ongoing revolution in deep learning is reshaping research across many fields, including economics. Its effects are especially clear in solving dynamic economic models. These models often lack closed-form solutions, so economists have long relied on numerical methods such as value function iteration, perturbation, and projection techniques. Unfortunately, these approaches suffer from the curse of dimensionality, which makes global solutions computationally infeasible as the number of state variables increases. Deep learning offers a different approach: flexible tools that solve dynamic economic models by minimizing residuals in equilibrium conditions and that can handle high-dimensional problems. This development promises to broaden the scope of quantitative economics. I illustrate the approach using the neoclassical growth model.
- DOI
- 10.1257/jel.20261794
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 829-875
- Language
- en
- Sources
- crossref