We show empirically that regions with a more specialized production structure exhibit output fluctuations that are less correlated with those of other regions (less \symmetric fluctuations). Combined with the causal relation running from capital market integration to regional specialization...

This paper introduces an internal propagation mechanism into a baseline multi-sector RBC model. The proposed mechanism, which is very similar to Keynes' spending multiplier in spirit, amplifies the impact of exogenous shocks significantly - a long-standing quest in the RBC literature. The main...

The analysis of business cycle synchronization levels has become a key point in the discussion of the processes of international economic integration. Economists show a particular interest in analyzing the frequency of processes of business cycle convergence and divergence (decoupling) in the...

We study the degree of business cycle similarity between the Central and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries and the Eurozone members. The special emphasis is put on the differences between countries that have already joined the European Union and those that are in different stages of...

This paper analyses the smoothing of asymmetric shocks to output for a sample of OECD countries. It also examines whether the private capital markets will be able to replace the government in providing output smoothing in the euro-area, in the near future. The research finds no evidence of large...

This paper investigates the extent to which business cycles of 15 ECOWAS countries are synchronized; which is one of the indicators of an optimum currency area. We employ wavelet tools to compute business cycle similarities and the distance matrix. Wavelet-spectra clustering indicates that Gambia,...

In his papers during the lead up to the birth of the European Monetary Union, Obstfeld considered whether the countries forming the EMU were sufficiently similar to survive a single monetary policy--and more importantly, whether they had the capacity to adjust to asymmetric shocks given a single...

We analyze how global economic integration of factor markets affects the stability of the macro economy, with respect to expectations-driven fluctuations, when countries differ in their labour market institutions. It is shown that, due to the occurrence of equilibrium indeterminacy,...

We investigate the impact of trade integration between Canada and the United States on the degree of industrial specialization of the Canadian regions. Trade integration is captured through the decrease of trade-weighted tariffs that was boosted by the implementation of the Canadian-U.S. Free...