What drives markups? Evolutionary pricing in an agent-based stock-flow consistent macroeconomic model

Abstract

This article studies coordination between firms in a multi-sectoral macroeconomic model with endogenous business cycles. Firms are both in competition and interdependent, and set their prices with a markup over unit costs. Markups are heterogeneous and evolve under market pressure. We observe a systematic coordination between firms of each sector, and between each sector. The resulting pattern of relative prices is fairly consistent with the labor theory of value. These emerging features are robust to technology shocks.