We estimate the time-varying distribution of aggregate supply (AS) and aggregate demand (AD) shocks defined in the Keynesian tradition. In modeling the time variation in higher order moments, we distinguish between traditional Gaussian uncertainty and "bad" uncertainty, associated with negative...

We use non-Gaussian features in U.S. macroeconomic data to identify aggregate supply and demand shocks while imposing minimal economic assumptions. Recessions in the 1970s and 1980s were driven primarily by supply shocks, later recessions were driven primarily by demand shocks, and the Great...