Macroeconomic Shocks and the Business Cycle: Evidence from a Structural Factor Model
49 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2010
Date Written: February 2010
Abstract
We use a dynamic factor model to provide a semi-structural representation for 101 quarterly US macroeconomic series. We find that (i) the US economy is well described by a number of structural shocks between two and six. Focusing on the four-shock specification, we identify, using sign restrictions, two non-policy shocks, demand and supply, and two policy shocks, monetary and fiscal. We obtain the following results. (ii) Both supply and demand shocks are important sources of fluctuations; supply prevails for GDP, while demand prevails for employment and inflation. (ii) Policy matters: Both monetary and fiscal policy shocks have sizeable effects on output and prices, with little evidence of crowding-out; both monetary and fiscal authorities implement important systematic countercyclical policies reacting to demand shocks. (iii) Negative demand shocks have a large long-run positive effect on productivity, consistently with the Schumpeterian "cleansing" view of recessions.
Keywords: demand, fiscal policy, monetary policy, sign restrictions, structural factor model, supply
JEL Classification: C32, E32, E52, F31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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Macroeconomic Shocks and the Business Cycle: Evidence from a Structural Factor Model
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