Maximum likelihood in the frequency domain: a time to build example

The Gaussian log-likelihood can be expressed as the sum over different frequency components. This implies that the likelihood ratio statistic has a similar linear decomposition. Exploiting these observations, the authors devise diagnostic methods that are useful for interpreting maximum-likelihood parameter estimates and likelihood ratio tests. They apply the methods to estimating and testing two real business-cycle models and reject the standard model in favor of an alternative in which capital investment requires a planning period.