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Recent U.S. Macroeconomic Stability: Good Policies, Good Practices, or Good Luck?

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Author Info
Shaghil Ahmed (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
Andrew Levin (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)
Beth Anne Wilson (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)

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Abstract

The volatility of U.S. real GDP growth since 1984 has been markedlylowerthanoverthepreviousquartercentury.Weutilizefrequency-domain and VAR methods to distinguish among competing explanations for this reduction: improvements in monetary policy, better business practices, and a fortuitous reduction in exogenous disturbances. We find that reduced innovation variances account for much of the decline in aggregate output volatility, suggesting that good luck is the most likely explanation. Good practices and good policy appear to have played a more important role in explaining the post-1984 decline in the volatility of consumer price inflation. Copyright (c) 2004 President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Article provided by MIT Press in its journal Review of Economics and Statistics.

Volume (Year): 86 (2004)
Issue (Month): 3 (08)
Pages: 824-832
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:86:y:2004:i:3:p:824-832

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  1. John Ryding, 1990. "Housing finance and the transmission of monetary policy," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Sum, pages 42-55.
  2. Sims, Christopher A, 1980. "Macroeconomics and Reality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(1), pages 1-48, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Lawrence J. Christiano & Martin Eichenbaum & Charles L. Evans, 1998. "Monetary Policy Shocks: What Have We Learned and to What End?," NBER Working Papers 6400, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Richard Clarida & Jordi Galí & Mark Gertler, 2000. "Monetary Policy Rules And Macroeconomic Stability: Evidence And Some Theory," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(1), pages 147-180, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Margaret M. McConnell & Patricia C. Mosser & Gabriel Perez Quiros, 1999. "A decomposition of the increased stability of GDP growth," Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Aug. [Downloadable!]
  6. Marianne Baxter & Robert G. King, 1995. "Measuring Business Cycles Approximate Band-Pass Filters for Economic Time Series," NBER Working Papers 5022, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Antonio Moreno, 2004. "Reaching Inflation Stability," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 269, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  2. Ulrich Fritsche & Vladimir Kuzin, 2004. "Declining Output Volatility in Germany : Impulses, Propagation, and the Role of Monetary Policy," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 433, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Sylvain Leduc & Keith Sill, 2003. "Monetary policy, oil shocks, and TFP: accounting for the decline in U.S. volatility," Working Papers 03-22, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Ulrich Fritsche & Vladimir Kuzin, 2005. "Declining Output Volatility in Germany: Impulses, Propagation, and the Role of the Monetary Policy," Money Macro and Finance (MMF) Research Group Conference 2005 70, Money Macro and Finance Research Group. [Downloadable!]
  5. F. Owen Irvine & Scott Schuh, 2005. "The roles of comovement and inventory investment in the reduction of output volatility," Working Papers 05-9, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
  6. Christian Gillitzer & Jonathan Kearns, 2005. "Long-term Patterns in Australia's Terms of Trade," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2005-01, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  7. Antonello D’Agostino & Domenico Giannone & Paolo Surico, 2006. "(Un)Predictability and macroeconomic stability," Working Paper Series 605, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Fuentes-Albero, Cristina, 2007. "Technology Shocks, Statistical Models, and The Great Moderation," MPRA Paper 3589, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  9. D.J. van Dijk & D.R. Osborn & M. Sensier, 2002. "Changes in variability of the business cycle in the G7 countries," Econometric Institute Report 282, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Econometric Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Chang-Jin Kim & Charles Nelson & Jeremy Piger, 2001. "The less volatile U.S. economy: a Bayesian investigation of timing, breadth, and potential explanations," International Finance Discussion Papers 707, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Claudia M. Buch & Joerg Doepke & Christian Pierdzioch, 2002. "Business Cycle Volatility in Germany," Kiel Working Papers 1129, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Marie Brière & Ombretta Signori & Kokou Topeglo, 2006. "Bond Market “Conundrum”: New Factors Explaining Long-term Interest Rates?," Working Papers CEB 06-024.RS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Solvay Business School, Centre Emile Bernheim (CEB). [Downloadable!]
  13. Michael D. Bordo & Thomas Helbling, 2003. "Have National Business Cycles Become More Synchronized?," NBER Working Papers 10130, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Sandrine Corvoisier & Benoît Mojon, 2005. "Breaks in the mean of inflation - how they happen and what to do with them," Working Paper Series 451, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  15. Antonio Moreno, 2003. "Reaching Inflation Stability," Faculty Working Papers 13/03, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra. [Downloadable!]
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