Empirically, ADF tests fail to reject the null hypothesis that sales are I(1). We build a model of inventory behavior that incorporates permanent sales shocks. Analytically, the model with I(1) sales implies that the variance ratio (of log production to log sales) is one in the long run,...

This paper shows that plausible modifications to the Taylor rule for monetary policy can help explain several empirical anomalies to the behavior of inflation in the new-Keynesian general equilibrium model. The key anomalies considered are (1) the persistence of inflation, both in reduced form...

When investment is irreversible, theory suggests that firms will be "reluctant to invest." This reluctance creates a wedge between the discount rate guiding investment decisions and the standard Jorgensonian user cost (adjusted for risk). We use the intertemporal tradeoff between benefits and...

This paper presents a model that provides an explanation, based on regime switching in the real interest rate and learning, of why tests based on stock adjustment models, Euler equations, or decision rules—which emphasize short-run fluctuations in inventories and the interest rate—are...

Are stock market crashes and rallies related to deviations from the apparent fundamental share price? Using a switching-regression framework, the authors test whether apparent deviations help to predict the regime from which the next period's stock market return is drawn and the magnitude of...

Financing constraints can arise when there are important information asymmetries in financial markets. Using Canadian panel data, the authors reject a symmetric information specification of investment behavior in favor of an agency cost specification in which the shadow cost of finance can...