In this work we study the granular origins of business cycles and their possible underlying drivers. As shown by Gabaix (2011), the skewed nature of firm size distributions implies that idiosyncratic (and independent) firm-level shocks may account for a significant portion of aggregate...

This dissertation deals with the impact of speculative behaviour on output patterns of the real economy. The impact may be twofold. Speculative behaviour occurs due to positive developments at the real economy and optimistic outlooks. Also, speculative behaviour may occur at other markets, like...