A model of heterogenous firms facing idiosyncratic risk is proposed which generates an equity premium of 6 per cent and a risk-free rate of 1.5 per cent even if aggregate returns are risk-free. The premium in this model reflects diminishing returns-to-scale and the fact that equity shares are...

This paper assesses various capital and labor adjustment costs functions estimating a general equilibrium framework with Bayesian methods using US aggregate data. The estimation finds that the adjustment costs are convex in both capital and labor and allowing for their joint interaction is...

This paper deals with the implications of factor demand linkages for monetary policy design in a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model. Part of the output of each sector serves as a production input in both sectors, in accordance with a realistic input–output structure. Strategic...

We contribute to a recent literature on the normalization, calibration and estimation of CES production functions. The problem arises because CES ‘share’ parameters are not in fact shares, but depend on underlying dimensions—in other words they are ‘dimensional constants’. It follows...

Wide operational and financial independence given to monetary and credit policies subjects the Federal Reserve to incentives detrimental for macroeconomic and financial stability. The absence of a monetary policy rule created go-stop incentives that produced inefficient volatility of both...

The term premium has become increasingly important in discussions of monetary policy formulation. This paper reviews two approaches to embedding a variable term premium into an otherwise standard modern DSGE model. The first approach maintains frictionless asset trade but alters preferences so...

We provide an extensive analysis of the predictive ability of financial volatility for economic activity. We consider monthly measures of realized and implied volatility from the stock and bond markets. In a dynamic factor framework, we extract the common long-run component of volatility that is...

This paper seeks to evaluate quantitatively how interbank and corporate cross-border flows shape business cycles in a monetary union. Using Bayesian techniques, we estimate a two-country DSGE model that distinguishes between Eurozone core and peripheral countries and accounts for national...

Are exogenous shocks to lending spreads in corporate credit markets a substantial source of macroeconomic fluctuations? An alternative explanation of the data is that borrowing costs respond endogenously to expectations of future default, driven by macroeconomic shocks. We investigate by...

This paper addresses the positive implications of indexing risky debt to observable aggregate conditions. These issues are pursued within the context of the celebrated financial accelerator model of Bernanke et al. (1999). The principal conclusions include: (1) the estimated level of indexation...