How non-traded goods may generate quasi-quadratic costs for capital adjustment

Abstract

This paper shows that a two-tiered production structure with both traded and non-traded intermediate goods and non-traded final goods can generate a cost of capital adjustment that is very similar to the quadratic adjustment cost often assumed in single good macroeconomic models. This implies that while a quadratic loss function may seem like an ad hoc adjustment, it can be rationalized by sound theory from a more detailed model.