In this paper we argue that in contrast to the conclusion of Artis and Zhang, there is not much evidence in support of the view that increased exchange rate stability is related to more synchronised business cycles in Europe. This finding may have important consequences, as existing differences...

Firms devote significant resources to maintain and repair thei existing capital. Within a real business cycle model featuring arguably small aggregate increasing returns, this paper assesses the stabilizing effects of fiscal policies with a maintenance expenditure allowance. In this setup, firms...

This paper is motivated by the rising interest in assessing the effect of disruptions in resources and environmental conditions on economic growth. Such an assessment requires, ultimately, the use of truly integrated models of the climate and economic systems. For these purposes, we have...

The main purpose of this chapter is to assess the originality of Schumpeter's theory of business cycles. The first section outlines the distinctive features of Schumpeter's approach to business cycles and economic dynamics. Section two looks at the mechanisms constituting the cycle in...

This paper assesses the monetary consequences of the Latin-American integration process. Over the period 1991-2007, we analyze a sample of five Latin-Americancountries focusing on the feasibility of a monetary union between L.A. economies. To this end, we study the issue of business cycle...

We study the implications of constant money growth rules on the stability properties of the equilibrium, in economies where the agents are subject to a partial cash-in-advance constraint applying simultaneously to consumption and investment purchases. By reference to similar models in which the...

We provide a business cycle model in which endogenous markup fluctuations are the main driving force. These fluctuations occur due to some form of 'animal spirits', impelling firms in their entry-exit decisions within each sector. By contrast to existing models of the business cycle emphasizing...

Economies with oligopolistic markets are prone to inefficient sunspot fluctuations triggered by autonomous changes in firms equilibrium conjectures. We show that a well designed taxation-subsidization scheme can eliminate these fluctuations by coordinating firms in each sector on a single...