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A Defense of RBC:Understanding the Puzzling Effects of Technology Shocks

Author

Listed:
  • Yi Wen

    (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)

  • Pengfei Wang

    (Hong Kong University of Science & Technology)

Abstract

The research led by Gali (AER 1999) and Basu et al. (AER 2006) raises two important questions regarding the validity of the RBC theory: (i) How important are technology shocks in explaining the business cycle? (ii) Do impulse responses to technology shocks found in the data reject the assumption of flexible prices? This paper argues that the conditional impulse responses of the U.S. economy to technology shocks are not grounds to reject the notion that technology shocks are the main driving force of the business cycle and the assumption of flexible prices, in contrary to the conclusions reached by the literature. Our paper also provides a new approach to deriving aggregate production functions and TFP.

Suggested Citation

  • Yi Wen & Pengfei Wang, 2008. "A Defense of RBC:Understanding the Puzzling Effects of Technology Shocks," 2008 Meeting Papers 7, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed008:7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gali, Jordi & Lopez-Salido, J. David & Valles, Javier, 2003. "Technology shocks and monetary policy: assessing the Fed's performance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 723-743, May.
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