The boom in real estate prices during the early 2000s and the subsequent bust were key factors underlying the recessions in the United States and Europe.

The slow economic recovery may be, at least in part, the natural result of the real estate bubble.

Jobless recoveries since 2000 may be attributed to a slowdown in the long-term employment trend.

Households are the sector that the financial accelerator appears to have hit hardest, according to the data.

Firms started repaying their debts during 2008-2009, and they did so while simultaneously accumulating highly liquid assets. These two observations are puzzling if one believes firms are purportedly starving for credit but cannot obtain it.

Changes in wealth, according to our simple calculations, can account for almost all of the observed consumption fluctuations of the past two decades.

A GIIPS crisis wouldn't have too strong an effect on the U.S. economy, but an EU-wide crisis may be a serious concern.

We offer a word of caution to policymakers: Policies based on point estimates of the output gap may not rest on solid ground.

The U.S. financial growth between 1995 and 2006 certainly translated into record-high shareholder returns. Labor compensation returns were also dramatically high at the onset of the current crisis.

The recent strengthening of the correlations between U.S. GDP growth and that of Mexico, Canada, and Euro-19 validates further consideration of the performance of U.S. trade partners for growth.