We use a machine-learning approach known as Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) to reexamine the usefulness of selected leading indicators for predicting recessions. We estimate the BRT approach on German data and study the relative importance of the indicators and their marginal effects on the...

The paper analyses reasons for departures from strong rationality of growth and inflation forecasts based on annual observations from 1963 to 2004. We rely on forecasts from the joint forecast of the so-called "six leading" forecasting institutions in Germany and argue that violations of the...

The paper analyses whether business cycle fluctuations affect long-run growth. This hypothesis is tested using quarterly time series for the G7-countries. A vector-autoregressive model containing total factor productivity and a survey-based direct measure of the business cycle is estimated. In...