I study the degree of returns to scale in aggregate U.S. data by estimating the standard RBC model with and without variable capacity utilization using Bayesian methods. The source of increasing returns is the presence of an externality in production. I find that, at best, returns are mildly...

We demonstrate the possibility of indeterminacy and non-existence of equilibrium dynamics in a standard business cycle model with search and matching frictions in the labor market. Our results arise for empirically plausible parametrizations and do not rely upon a mechanism such as increasing...

We study global and local dynamics of a simple search and matching model of the labor market. We show that the model can be locally indeterminate or have no equilibrium at all, but only for parameterizations that are empirically implausible. In contrast to the local results, we show that the...

We search for the presence of hysteresis, which we define as aggregate demand shocks that have a permanent impact on real GDP, in the U.S., the Euro Area, and the U.K. Working with cointegrated structural VARs, we find essentially no evidence of such effects. Within a Classical statistical...

Taking as data-generation process a standard DSGE model, we show via Monte Carlo that reliably detecting hysteresis, defined as the presence of aggregate demand shocks with a permanent impact on output, is a significant challenge, as model-consistent identification schemes (i) spuriously detect...

We specify a simple search and matching model of the aggregate labor market allowing for productivity-driven changes in match efficiency. This mechanism leads to shifts in the Beveridge curve that are broadly consistent with the pattern observed in the United States. We simulate data from the...