Economists model time as continuous or discrete. The recent literature on continuous time models with delays should help to bridge the gap between these two families of models. In this note, we propose a simple time–to–build model in continuous time, and show that a discrete time version is...

Many real business cycle models lack a significant propagation mechanism. Consequently most of the serial correlation in output is inherited from the serial correlation in the exogenous shocks. A simple model is presented to show there need not be any relationship between the serial correlation...

We start by reviewing the graphical approach to teaching the real business cycle model introduced in Barro (1984). We then look at where this approach cuts corners and suggest refinements. Finally, graphical and exact models are compared by means of impulse response functions. The graphical...

A popular theory of business cycles is that they are driven by animal spirits: shifts in expectations brought on by sunspots. Two prominent examples are Diamond (JPE, 1982) and Howitt and McAfee (AER, 1992). We show that these models have unique equilibria if there are payoff shocks of any size....

We analyze the impact of financial globalization on business cycle synchronization utilizing a proprietary database on banks’ international exposure for industrialized countries during 1978–2006. Theory makes ambiguous predictions and identification has been elusive due to lack of bilateral...