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Capacity constraints, asymmetries, and the business cycle

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Author Info
Gary D. Hansen (University of California, Los Angeles)
Edward C. Prescott (Arizona State University)

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Abstract

We study how an occasionally binding capacity constraint affects the properties of business cycles. A real business cycle model is constructed where production takes place at individual plants and the number of plants operated varies over the cycle. The capacity constraint binds in states where all plants are operated. We derive the aggregate production function for this economy, which turns out to differ from the standard Cobb.Douglas function while retaining its desirable properties. The business cycle features of this one-sector growth model are similar to those of a standard real business cycle model in most respects. Our model does, however, display some properties of actual economies that standard models do not. In particular, business cycles in our model are asymmetric--troughs are deeper on average than peaks are tall. Also, labor's share of income is counter-cyclical, as it is in US data. (Copyright: Elsevier)

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File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2005.08.001
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics in its journal Review of Economic Dynamics.

Volume (Year): 8 (2005)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 850-865
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Handle: RePEc:red:issued:v:8:y:2005:i:4:p:850-865

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Related research
Keywords: Capacity utilization; Asymmetric business cycles; Real business cycles;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Kydland, Finn E & Prescott, Edward C, 1991. "Hours and Employment Variation in Business Cycle Theory," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 63-81, January.
    Other versions:
  2. Hansen, Gary D., 1985. "Indivisible labor and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 309-327, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Gomme, Paul & Greenwood, Jeremy, 1995. "On the cyclical allocation of risk," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 91-124. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Simon Gilchrist & John C. Williams, 2000. "Putty-Clay and Investment: A Business Cycle Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 928-960, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Greenwood, Jeremy & Hercowitz, Zvi & Huffman, Gregory W, 1988. "Investment, Capacity Utilization, and the Real Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 402-17, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Andreas Hornstein & Edward C. Prescott, 1989. "The firm and the plant in general equilibrium theory," Staff Report 126, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
  7. Rogerson, Richard, 1988. "Indivisible labor, lotteries and equilibrium," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 3-16, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Cooley, Thomas F & Hansen, Gary D & Prescott, Edward C, 1995. "Equilibrium Business Cycles with Idle Resources and Variable Capacity Utilization," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 35-49, June.
    Other versions:
  9. Sichel, Daniel E, 1993. "Business Cycle Asymmetry: A Deeper Look," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 31(2), pages 224-36, April.
  10. Altu[gbreve], Sumru & Ashley, Richard A. & Patterson, Douglas M., 1999. "Are Technology Shocks Nonlinear?," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(04), pages 506-533, December. [Downloadable!]
  11. Burnside, Craig & Eichenbaum, Martin, 1996. "Factor-Hoarding and the Propagation of Business-Cycle Shocks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1154-74, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. repec:cup:macdyn:v:3:y:1999:i:4:p:506-33 is not listed on IDEAS
  13. Ellen R. McGrattan & Edward C. Prescott, 2001. "Is the Stock Market Overvalued?," NBER Working Papers 8077, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Jean-François Fagnart & Omar Licandro & Franck Portier, 1999. "Firm Heterogeneity, Capacity Utilization and the Business Cycle," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 2(2), pages 433-455, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stéphane Hallegatte & Michael Ghil, 2007. "Endogenous Business Cycles and the Economic Response to Exogenous Shocks," Working Papers 2007.20, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
  2. McKay, Alisdair & Reis, Ricardo, 2006. "The Brevity and Violence of Contractions and Expansions," CEPR Discussion Papers 5756, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. François Gourio, 2006. "Firms’ Heterogeneous Sensitivities to the Business Cycle, and the Cross-Section of Expected Returns," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2006-005, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Christopher Reicher, 2009. "What Can a New Keynesian Labor Matching Model Match?," Kiel Working Papers 1496, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
  5. Jeffrey R. Campbell & Zvi Hercowitz, 2004. "The role of households' collateralized debts in macroeconomic stabilization," Working Paper Series WP-04-24, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  6. François Gourio, 2005. "Operating Leverage,Stock Market Cyclicality,and the Cross-Section of Returns," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2005-002, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Zvi Hercowitz, 2004. "Concentration of Capital Ownership and Investment Fluctuations," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 7(3), pages 668-686, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. James Yetman, 2009. "Hong Kong Consumer Prices are Flexible," Working Papers 052009, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research. [Downloadable!]
  9. Edward C. Prescott, 2003. "Non-convexities in quantitative general equilibrium studies of business cycles," Staff Report 312, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Jeffrey R. Campbell & Zvi Hercowitz, 2005. "The Role of Collateralized Household Debt in Macroeconomic Stabilization," NBER Working Papers 11330, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Yunus Aksoy & Hanno Lustig, 2006. "Exchange Rates, Prices and International Trade in a Model of Endogenous Market Structure," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0609, Birkbeck, School of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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