This is the page of the Econ 590 course
Vancouver School of Economics
2015-2016
New Avenues in Business Cycle Research
The course will be taught by Paul Beaudry & Franck Portier.
These lectures will begin by a review and a critical assessment of the dominant theories of business cycles. We will then discuss a set of empirical observations that have motivated recent alternative lines of inquiry. In the process, we will discuss the merits and pitfalls of using VAR evidence and Bayesian estimation for motivating business cycle research. We discuss the challenges and desirability of building a macroeconomic model where demand forces drive fluctuations without relying on sticky prices. We will overview a set of models aimed overcoming these challenges. The lectures will finish with a discussion of the relationship between social learning and business cycles. A substantial fraction of the lectures and course work will be directed towards mastering the tools required for solving and estimating stochastic dynamic general equilibrium models.
Slides
- Lecture 0 : Business Cycle Facts and Detrending
- Lecture 1 : Business Cycle Models : The Current Consensus
- Part A : The RBC Model
- Part C : The New Keynesian Model (updated
05/02/201612/02/2016) - Part C : The New Keynesian Model (continued and extensions)
- Lecture 2 : Estimation and evaluation of stochastic dynamic models
- Part A: VARs
- Part B: An AD-AS Example
- Part C: Bayesian Estimation with Dynare (Colin’s slides)
- Lecture 3 : Questioning the consensus and paths forward
- Lecture 4 : Considering more substantial changes to the paradigm
- Introduction
- Simple Dynamics with Strategic Interactions
- Liquidations and Deficient Demands : Reconciling Hayek’s and Keynes’ views of recessions
- Is the Macroeconomy Locally Unstable and Why should we care?
Useful readings
- Hansen & Sargent 1980 with the famous “Hansen-Sargent formulas“
- Woodford 2009: Convergence in Macroeconomics: Elements of the New Synthesis
- Gali 2013: Notes for a new guide to Keynes (I): wage, aggregate demand, and employment
- Structural Vector Autoregressions by Lutz Kilian
- Macroeconomic Shocks and Their Propagation by Valerie Ramey
- News Driven Business Cycles: Insights and Challenges by Paul B and Franck P
- Reconciling Hayek’s and Keynes views of recessions by Paul B, Dana G and Franck P
- Reviving the Limit Cycle View of Macroeconomic Fluctuations by Paul B, Dana G and Franck P
- Is the Macroeconomy Locally Unstable and Why Should We Care? by Paul B, Dana G and Franck P
