We model the US business cycle using a dynamic factor model that identifies common factors underlying fluctuations in state-level income and employment growth. We find three such common factors, each of which is associated with a set of factor loadings that indicate the extent to which each...

A number of studies have documented a reduction in aggregate macroeconomic volatility beginning in the early 1980s, i.e., the "Great Moderation." This paper documents the Great Moderation at the state level, finding significant heterogeneity in the timing and magnitude of states' structural...

type="main" <title type="main">ABSTRACT</title> <p>Much of the literature examining the effects of oil shocks asks the question “What is an oil shock?” and has concluded that oil-price increases are asymmetric in their effects on the U.S. economy. That is, sharp increases in oil prices affect economic activity adversely,...</p>

The U.S. aggregate business cycle is often characterized as a series of distinct recession and expansion phases. We apply a regime-switching model to state-level coincident indices to characterize state business cycles in this way. We find that states differ a great deal in the levels of growth...

This paper examines the determinants of employment growth in metro areas. To obtain growth rates, we use a Markov-switching model that separates a city's growth path into two distinct phases (high and low), each with its own growth rate. The simple average growth rate over some period is,...

Ethnic networks have been associated with increased international trade, although studies have not differentiated between entry into foreign markets and trade expansion. We find that ethnic networks increase trade on the intensive margin but not on the extensive margin.