The cost of uncertainty

Abstract: The traditional and most common view of economists on the issue of (bad) uncertainty and its effects has been one of partial equilibrium. When the topic is approached from a macroeconomic perspective, the most frequent has been the examination of the effects of uncertainty shocks on short-term dynamics with various methods, but mainly with neo-Keynesian and statistical (vector autoregressive) models. This document responds to another concern and has two objectives: 1. to reflect on this issue with some instruments of the macroeconomist's toolbox related to a medium or long-term horizon, and 2. report a ciphering of the social cost of uncertainty in the Colombian case.