Recent research has shown the importance of time horizons in models of learning in finance. The dynamics of how agents adjust to believe that the world around them is stationary may be just as crucial in the convergence to a rational-expectations equilibrium as getting parameters and model specifications correct in the learning process. This paper explores the process of this evolution in learning and time horizons in a simple agent-based financial market.
Trading is done in a market with a single stock in finite supply, paying a stochastic dividend.
A risk free asset is available in infinite supply. Heterogeneity is introduced through the time horizon that they believe is relevant to use in deciding over trading rules. Long horizon agents build relative performance measures looking back into the distant past, while those with short horizons believe that only recent measures of performance are useful for decision making. The price of the risky asset is set to balance current agent demand with its fixed supply at each period. Once the price is endogenously determined, returns are calculated and dividends paid.