There is no consensus about the causes of the reduction in business cycle volatility seen in many major economies over the last decade. Using stylised models of the economies of the US, Euro area, UK and Japan, we argue that economic stability has been fostered by improved monetary policy and by...

This paper presents a dynamic theory of housing market fluctuations. It develops a life-cycle model where households are heteroeneous with respect to income and preferences and mortgage lending is restricted by a down-payment requirement. The market interaction of young credit-constrained...