Research
I am a quantitative macroeconomist working on firm dynamics and
models with energy inputs. I study how energy use and technology choice,
adjustment costs, and firms’ debt and financing portfolios shape
hiring, investment, and aggregate outcomes, including in
heterogeneous-agent New Keynesian models with nonlinearities. I also
work on quantitative models of how politicians’ competence and views
affect policy and the path of institutions.
My
job market paper is below; a current
curriculum vitae is available as a PDF.
- Primary Macroeconomics, Quantitative solution methods
- Secondary firm dynamics, political economy
Job Market Paper
Oil Price Volatility and the Asymmetric Transmission of Energy Shocks
Alireza Azampour, Mohammad Naderitabar | Draft, 2026
Abstract.
Why does an increase in the oil price lead to a contraction, while a decline in the price is less expansionary,
and why does this asymmetry increase with the size of the shock? We answer by studying identified oil-supply shocks
and their effects on EU-wide investment and on energy-price dispersion. These shocks first show an asymmetric and
nonlinear investment response: investment contracts by more after a price increase than it expands after a price decline,
and the gap widens with the size of the shock. They secondly show a positive relation between the change in the oil price
and subsequent energy-price dispersion. To explain these facts, we develop a heterogeneous-agent model of an economy
composed of high- and low-energy-intensity firms. A spike in price dispersion raises uncertainty in sectoral and individual-firm
returns and discourages investment. That fall in investment magnifies the contractionary effect of a price increase and mitigates
the expansionary effect of a price decline. In line with the model, a more volatile oil price shifts the mean and raises the dispersion
of returns by more in the high-intensity sector.
PDF
Slides
Working Papers
-
Firm Debt Portfolios and Factor Adjustment
with Mikael Carlsson, Alireza Sepahsalari, and Oskar Nordström Skans | 2026 |
Using granular Swedish firm-level data, we establish that firms use risky debt more for working-capital financing and safe debt
more for growth financing. We build a model that generates the same behavior as the data and study how policies that target the
availability of risky (short-term) and safe (long-term) debt affect firm-level and aggregate outcomes.
Work in Progress
-
Revising forward guidance and targeted policies in HANK models using an almost nonlinear solution
In this paper, we revisit forward guidance and targeted policies in HANK models, which we believe should be analyzed using nonlinear methods. (with Mohammad Naderitabar)
-
Technology Adoption and the Pace of Transition in the U.S. Power Sector
The paper studies how the U.S. power sector switches from coal to gas and then to renewables when existing generators differ in efficiency and in the time since their last technological update. (with Maija Kaartinen)
Teaching
- Teaching assistant
-
Macroeconomics II (Ph.D.), 2023
Macroeconomics I, (M.Sc.)2019
Iran's Economy, (M.Sc.) 2019
Introduction to Economic Growth, (B.Sc.) 2018
Introduction to Money and Banking, (B.Sc.) 2018
Introduction to Macroeconomics (B.Sc.) 2017
Education
- Ph.D. Economics
- Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, expected 2027
- M.Sc. Economics
- Graduate School of Management and Economics,Sharif University of Technology, 2020
- B.Sc. Electrical Engineering
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, 2017
Curriculum Vitae
Download a current CV
CV (PDF)
