Using the business cycle accounting framework [Chari V., P. Kehoe and E. McGrattan 2007. Business Cycle Accounting. Econometrica 75, 781-836.], this paper sheds new light on the French Great Depression. Frictions that reduce the efficiency with which factor inputs are used (efficiency wedge)...

This paper outlines a new method for using qualitative information to analyze the monetary policy strategy of central banks. Quantitative assessment indicators that are extracted from a central bank's public statements via the balance statistic approach are employed to estimate a Taylor-type...

Why do some central banks choose to control directly the quantity of credit rather than to influence indirectly interest rates through market operations? This paper states that the choice of monetary policy instruments is determined not primarily by the nature of the macroeconomic disturbances...

The paper presented here, part of my PhD dissertation written under Professor Brian Reddaway's guidance, is offered as an example of his approach to applied economics as well as a tribute to his legacy. The scope of this paper is to suggest an operational approach to the analysis of growth, an...

Abstract: In Hayek's early writings on business cycle theory and the Great Depression he argued that business cycle downturns including the steep downturn of 1929-31 were caused by unsustainable elongations of capital structure of the economy resulting from bank-financed investment in excess of...

Successful stabilization policy not only needs effective instruments and reliable indicators but also an usable theoretical framework. This paper looks for an as-simple-as-possible presentation that combines useful concepts for stabilization policy in a graphical presentation. As all variables...

We propose a novel identification strategy to measure monetary policy in a structural VAR. It is based exclusively on known past policy shocks, which are uncovered from high-frequency data, and does not rely on any theoretical a-priori restrictions. Our empirical analysis for the euro area...

The literature on the growth effects of European integration remains inconclusive. This is due to severe methodological difficulties mostly driven by country heterogeneity. This paper addresses these concerns using the synthetic control method. It constructs counterfactuals for countries that...

I use the global crisis of 1914 as a window onto the phenomenon of investor reaction to complex news — such as sudden political upheaval. Based on a novel database of all stocks traded on the NYSE during 1914, along with “real-time” news accounts from major newspapers, I show that NYSE...