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American Business Cycles 1889-1913: An Accounting Approach

Author

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  • Dou Jiang

    (Nanjing University of Finance and Economics)

  • Mark Weder

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University and CAMA)

Abstract

This paper quantitatively investigates the Depression of the 1890s and the 1907 recession in the United States. Business Cycle Accounting decomposes economic fluctuations into their contributing factors. The results suggest that both the 1890s and the 1907 recessions were primarily caused by factors that affect the efficiency wedge, i.e. slumps in the economy’s factor productivity. Distortions to the labor wedge played a less important role. Models with financial market frictions that translate into the efficiency wedge are the most promising candidates for explaining the recessionary episodes.

Suggested Citation

  • Dou Jiang & Mark Weder, 2021. "American Business Cycles 1889-1913: An Accounting Approach," Economics Working Papers 2021-02, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    • Handle: RePEc:aah:aarhec:2021-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business cycles; Depression of the 1890s; Recession of 1907;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • N11 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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