This paper identifies and describes key features of Caribbean business cycles during the period 1963-2003. In particular, the chronologies in the Caribbean classical cycle (expansions and contractions in the level of output) and growth cycle (periods of above-trend and below-trend rates of...

We propose the method of eigenvalue filtering as a new tool to extract time series subcomponents (such as business-cycle or irregular) defined by properties of the underlying eigenvalues. We logically extend the Beveridge-Nelson decomposition of the VAR time-series models focusing on the...

Time series on economic activity in developing countries, in particular real GDP, are reported with important lags. Therefore, it is useful to construct indicators that coincide or lead the actual direction and level of economic activity. A general methodology to construct these indicators is...

The analysis of coincident and leading indicators can help policymakers gauge the short-term direction of economic activity. While such analysis is well established in advanced economies, it has received relatively little attention in many emerging market and developing economies, reflecting in...

Our answer: Not so well. We reached that conclusion after reviewing recent research on the role of technology as a source of economic fluctuations. The bulk of the evidence suggests a limited role for aggregate technology shocks, pointing instead to demand factors as the main force behind the...

We propose and implement a framework for characterizing and monitoring the global business cycle. Our framework utilizes high-frequency data, allows us to account for a potentially large amount of missing observations, and is designed to facilitate the updating of global activity estimates as...

In den letzten Jahren erwiesen sich die deutschen Exporte als der Konjunkturmotor der deutschen Wirtschaft, und Deutschland wurde als Exportweltmeister noch vor den USA gefeiert. Tatsächlich gilt der Titel jedoch nur für die Warenausfuhr. Berücksichtigt man auch Dienstleistungsexporte, so...

Die in der ifo-Datenbank gespeicherten Zeitreihen werden aus eigenen Erhebungen und einer breiten Palette anderer statistischer Quellen zusammengetragen und auf aktuellem Stand gehalten. Wegen der ihnen zugrundeliegenden Fragestellungen bieten diese Zeitreihen eine nicht zu unterschätzende...