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Decision-making in hard times: What is a recession, why do we care and how do we know when we are in one?

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  • Lee, Kevin
  • Shields, Kalvinder K.

Abstract

Defining a recessionary event as one which impacts adversely on individuals' economic well-being, the paper argues that recession is a multi-faceted phenomenon whose meaning differs from person to person as it impacts on their decision-making in real time. It argues that recession is best represented through the calculation of the nowcast of recession event probabilities. A variety of such probabilities are produced using a real-time data set for the US for the period, focusing on the likelihood of various recessionary events through 1986q1-2008q4 and on prospects beyond the end of the sample.

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  • Lee, Kevin & Shields, Kalvinder K., 2011. "Decision-making in hard times: What is a recession, why do we care and how do we know when we are in one?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 43-60, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:22:y:2011:i:1:p:43-60
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    16. Anthony Garratt & Kevin Lee & Emi Mise & Kalvinder Shields, 2008. "Real-Time Representations of the Output Gap," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 792-804, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kneipp, Shawn M. & Kairalla, John A. & Sheely, Amanda L., 2013. "A randomized controlled trial to improve health among women receiving welfare in the U.S.: The relationship between employment outcomes and the economic recession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 130-140.
    2. Garratt, Anthony & Lee, Kevin & Shields, Kalvinder, 2016. "Forecasting global recessions in a GVAR model of actual and expected output," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 374-390.
    3. Anthony Garratt & Kevin Lee & Kalvinder Shields, 2014. "Forecasting Global Recessions in a GVAR Model of Actual and Expected Output in the G7," Discussion Papers 2014/06, University of Nottingham, Centre for Finance, Credit and Macroeconomics (CFCM).
    4. Maymin, Philip, 2012. "Music and the market: Song and stock volatility," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 70-85.
    5. Hsu, Jason C., 2012. "What drives equity market non-participation?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 86-114.
    6. Kevin Lee & Nilss Olekalns & Kalvinder Shields & Zheng Wang, 2012. "Australian Real-Time Database: An Overview and an Illustration of its Use in Business Cycle Analysis," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(283), pages 495-516, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Recession Probability forecasts Real time;

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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