This article compares the 1990-91 recession and the surrounding period of unusually sluggish growth with earlier recessionary episodes. Using a variety of indicators, the author assesses the relative severity of the latest recession and identifies features that distinguish this period from its...

Paper for a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York entitled Financial Innovation and Monetary Transmission

Paper for a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York entitled Financial Innovation and Monetary Transmission

This article evaluates the ability of the yield spread to forecast real economic activity in 11 industrial countries. The first section of this article defines the yield spread and explains why the spread may be a useful predictor of real economic activity. The second section describes the data...

Considerable research finds oil price shocks have had major effects on U.S. output and inflation. Several recent studies argue that the response of monetary policy-rather than the oil price shocks themselves-caused the fluctuations in economic activity. Stephen Brown and Mine Yucel show that an...

Remarks at New York University's Stern School of Business, New York City.