We construct simple indices based on newspaper mentions of the word ``recession'' and show they are useful coincident and leading indicators of U.S. economic activity. These indices compare favourably, both in-sample and out-of-sample, with other business-cycle predictors. Importantly,...

We provide evidence that fiscal policy in resource-rich countries is strongly procyclical. The empirical analysis reveals that on average real government consumption in these countries tends to significantly rise (fall) in good (bad) times. To control for endogeneity we use an instrumental...

We develop a canonical framework to think about credit market frictions and aggregate economic activity in the context of the current crisis. We use the framework to address two issues in particular: first, how disruptions in financial intermediation can induce a crisis that affects real...