In this paper, we develop an analytical framework for the estimation of potential output and output gaps for the euro area combining multivariate filtering techniques with the production function approach. The advantage of this methodology lies in the fact that it combines a model based approach...

This paper proposes a methodolgy to estimate structural macroeconomic models including non-stationary steady state dynamics. Using a transitory-permanent decomposition of the Euler equations, the method first solves for the transitory dynamics and subsequently provides the solution for the full...

The output gap plays a crucial role in thinking and actions of many central banks but real time measurements undergo substantial revisions as more data become available (Orphanides (2001), Orphanides and van Norden (forthcoming)). Some central banks augment, such as the Bank of Canada and the...

Recent work has found that, without the benefit of hindsight, it can prove difficult for policy-makers to pin down accurately the current position of the output gap; real-time estimates are unreliable. However, attention primarily has focused on output gap point estimates alone. But point...

There is now considerable evidence that business cycle variation in output and employment in the U.S. differs in expansions and contractions. We present nonparametric evidence that asymmetries are strongest in durable goods manufacturing. In a Markov switching framework, we find two leading...

The aim of the present work is to test the predictive power of the term spread in forecasting real economic growth rates and recession probabilities in Italy. According to the most recent literature, the relationship between the term spread and economic growth rates is modelled as a nonlinear...

This paper presents baseline sticky-price and sticky-information models of price-setting, and modifies each to incorporate some “rule-of-thumb†price-setters that index to inflation over recent periods. These models are estimated for the United States via maximum-likelihood techniques....