On the Sources of the Great Moderation

57 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2008 Last revised: 22 Sep 2022

See all articles by Jordi Galí

Jordi Galí

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional (CREI); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Luca Gambetti

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Economics and Business (DEB)

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Date Written: July 2008

Abstract

The remarkable decline in macroeconomic volatility experienced by the U.S. economy since the mid-80s (the so-called Great Moderation) has been accompanied by large changes in the patterns of comovements among output, hours and labor productivity. Those changes are reflected in both conditional and unconditional second moments as well as in the impulse responses to identified shocks. Among other changes, our findings point to (i) an increase in the volatility of hours relative to output, (ii) a shrinking contribution of non-technology shocks to output volatility, and (iii) a change in the cyclical response of labor productivity to those shocks. That evidence suggests a more complex picture than that associated with "good luck" explanations of the Great Moderation.

Suggested Citation

Gali, Jordi and Gambetti, Luca, On the Sources of the Great Moderation (July 2008). NBER Working Paper No. w14171, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1161094

Jordi Gali (Contact Author)

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional (CREI) ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.econ.upf.es/~gali

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Luca Gambetti

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Economics and Business (DEB) ( email )

Barcelona, 08005
Spain

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