Many macroeconometric models are built to understand business cycles. However, the methods applied to assess them are rarely of the form that one learns whether they provide a good explanation of cycle characteristics. In this paper we review and apply techniques that do this for models with...

Previous attempts to evaluate the Mortensen–Pissarides model rely on either endogenous separation or wage rigidity. In this paper I simulate a version of the Mortensen–Pissarides (MP) model with wage rigidity and endogenous separation. The model is then able to answer a key question in the...

We examine the theoretical interrelations between progressive income taxation and macroeconomic (in)stability in an otherwise standard one-sector real business cycle model with utility-generating government purchases of goods and services. When private and public consumption expenditures are...

We examine whether the introduction of the euro had a significant impact on the synchronization of business cycles among members of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Empirical evidence on this relationship is rare so far and suffers from methodical weaknesses, such as the absence of time...

What is the output gap? I discuss three alternative definitions: the deviation of output from its long-run stochastic trend (i.e., the “Beveridge–Nelson cycle”); the deviation of output from the level consistent with current technologies and normal utilization of capital and labor input...

We propose the analysis of the dynamics of the standard deviation of business cycles across euro area countries in order to evaluate the patterns of cyclical convergence in the European Monetary Union for the period 1960–2008. We identify significant business cycle divergence taking place in...

An important issue facing policymakers is the degree to which fluctuations in economic activity affect employment in large and small businesses across sectors and regions. This issue is particularly relevant for developing countries as it matters for the understanding of the labour market...

We study how producers of capital goods set shipments in response to fluctuations in new orders. We find that shipments respond more to orders when new orders fall below a certain level relative to shipments, usually after orders plunge in recessions. This cyclical change in producers’...