Stationary Distributions in Monotone Markov Models: Theory and Applications

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kamihigashi, Takashi, Stachurski, John
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Kamihigashi, Takashi
Stachurski, John
author_facet Kamihigashi, Takashi
Stachurski, John
contents Many economic models feature monotone Markov dynamics on state spaces that may be noncompact. Establishing existence, uniqueness, and stability of stationary distributions in such settings has required a patchwork of sufficient conditions, each tailored to specific applications. We provide a single necessary and sufficient condition: a monotone Markov process has a globally stable stationary distribution if and only if it is asymptotically contractive and has a tight trajectory. This characterization covers both compact and noncompact state spaces, discrete and continuous time, and extends to nonlinear Markov operators that depend on aggregate state. We demonstrate the result through applications to wage dynamics, Bayesian learning with belief shocks, and income processes that generate Pareto tails.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_03979
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stationary Distributions in Monotone Markov Models: Theory and Applications
Kamihigashi, Takashi
Stachurski, John
Probability
60J05, 47H07, 37A30
Many economic models feature monotone Markov dynamics on state spaces that may be noncompact. Establishing existence, uniqueness, and stability of stationary distributions in such settings has required a patchwork of sufficient conditions, each tailored to specific applications. We provide a single necessary and sufficient condition: a monotone Markov process has a globally stable stationary distribution if and only if it is asymptotically contractive and has a tight trajectory. This characterization covers both compact and noncompact state spaces, discrete and continuous time, and extends to nonlinear Markov operators that depend on aggregate state. We demonstrate the result through applications to wage dynamics, Bayesian learning with belief shocks, and income processes that generate Pareto tails.
title Stationary Distributions in Monotone Markov Models: Theory and Applications
topic Probability
60J05, 47H07, 37A30
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.03979