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Business Cycle Properties of Selected U.S. Economic Time Series, 1959-1988

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  • James H. Stock
  • Mark W. Watson

Abstract

This paper catalogs the business cycle properties of 163 monthly U.S. economic time series over the three decades from 1959 through 1988. Two general sets of summary statistics are reported. The first set measures the comovement of each individual time series with a reference series representing real economic activity. These statistics focus on comovements at business cycle horizons. The second set of statistics examines the predictive content of each of the series for aggregate activity, relative to different sets of conditioning (or predictive) variables. These statistics are constructed and presented in a way that facilitates comparisons across series and across conditioning sets. They also provide new lists of leading indicators based on predictive content for overall economic activity. Some of the results confirm previously recognized empirical regularities, while others provide new or different insights into the business cycle properties of various series.

Suggested Citation

  • James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 1990. "Business Cycle Properties of Selected U.S. Economic Time Series, 1959-1988," NBER Working Papers 3376, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3376
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    2. Bhanot, Karan, 2005. "What causes mean reversion in corporate bond index spreads? The impact of survival," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1385-1403, June.
    3. Campbell, John Y & Ammer, John, 1993. "What Moves the Stock and Bond Markets? A Variance Decomposition for Long-Term Asset Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 3-37, March.
    4. Necati Tekatli, 2007. "Generalized Factor Models: A Bayesian Approach," Working Papers 334, Barcelona School of Economics.
    5. Lyubomir Ivanov, 2005. "Is "The ideal filter" really Ideal: The usage of Frequency Filtering and Spurious Cycles," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 3(1), pages 79-96.
    6. Necati Tekatli, 2007. "Understanding Sources of the Change in International Business Cycles," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 731.08, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    7. Necati Tekatli, 2010. "A Bayesian Generalized Factor Model with Comparative Analysis (Genellestirilmis Faktor Modellerinin Bayesyen Yaklasimi ve Karsilastirmali Analizi)," Working Papers 1018, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
    8. Hassan Mohammadi & Daniel Rich, 2013. "Dynamics of Unemployment Insurance Claims: An Application of ARIMA-GARCH Models," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 41(4), pages 413-425, December.
    9. Martin Feldstein & James H. Stock, 1994. "The Use of a Monetary Aggregate to Target Nominal GDP," NBER Chapters, in: Monetary Policy, pages 7-69, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Victor Zarnowitz, 1991. "What is a Business Cycle?," NBER Working Papers 3863, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Francisco J. S. Rocha & Marcos R. V. Magalhaes & Ã tila Amaral Brilhante, 2022. "A BVAR Analysis on Channels of Monetary Policy Transmission in Brazil," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, February.
    12. Achla Marathe & Hany A. Shawky, 2003. "The Structural Relation Between Mortgage and Market Interest Rates," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(9-10), pages 1235-1251.
    13. John Hassler & Petter Lundvik & Torsten Persson & Paul Soderlind, 1992. "The Swedish business cycle: stylized facts over 130 years," Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics 63, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

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