Cyclical components are analytically computed in a theoretical model of stochastic endogenous fluctuations and growth. Volatility is shown to depend on the speed of convergence of the cyclical component, the expected length of a cycle and on the altitude of the slump. Taxes affect these channels...

We present a fully integrated microsimulation-AGE model that uses the labour market model PACE-L and data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. We use the model to analyse reform proposals designed to encourage labour force participation at the lower end of the wage distribution. A special focus...

This paper introduces the quest for status into the Ramsey model with endogenous labor supply. We focus our attention on relative wealth preferences. In contrast to relative consumption preferences, they allow for the possibility that agents work too little in the long run, while under both...

We study in a VAR model the effects of monetary policy shocks with new Italian flow of funds data for 1980-2002. First, our results are consistent with the literature, without being affected by commonly found puzzles. Second, new features of the transmission of monetary policy shocks to the...

A high degree of cyclical synchronization between the new EU member states (NMS) from Central and Eastern Europe and the euro area is generally seen as a prerequisite for successful EMU enlargement. We establish stylized facts on economic linkages between NMS and the euro area using dynamic...

The empirical difficulties associated with estimating the effects of changes in interest rates and corporate tax policy on business fixed investment are often blamed on a lack of identification. In this paper, we study the effect of variation in interest rates on investment spending, employing a...

This paper studies the cyclical properties the standard Mortensen-Pissarides model of labor search and matching embedded in the real business cycles model with capital, risk-averse agents, and lack of private insurance against unemployment risk. The model enables a direct comparison between the...

A number of studies have documented a reduction in aggregate macroeconomic volatility beginning in the early 1980s. Using an empirical model of business cycles, we extend this line of research to state-level employment data, find significant heterogeneity in the timing and magnitude of the...

In this paper we investigate the sources of the important shifts in the volatility of U.S. macroeconomic variables in the postwar period. To this end, we propose the estimation of DSGE models allowing for time variation in the volatility of the structural innovations. We apply our estimation...

This paper considers a dynamic matching model with imperfectly observable worker effort as in Shapiro and Stiglitz (1994). In our economy the no-shirking condition endogenously imposes real wage rigidity on the matching market. This generates "contractual fragility" and inefficient separations...