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A Simple Explanation of Countercyclical Uncertainty

Author

Listed:
  • Joshua Bernstein
  • Michael Plante
  • Alexander W. Richter
  • Nathaniel A. Throckmorton

Abstract

This paper documents that labor search and matching frictions generate countercyclical uncertainty because the inherent nonlinearity in the flow of new matches makes employment uncertainty increasing in the number of people searching for work. Quantitatively, this mechanism is strong enough to explain uncertainty and real activity dynamics, including their correlation. Through this lens, uncertainty fluctuations are endogenous responses to changes in real activity that neither affect the severity of business cycles nor warrant policy intervention, in contrast with leading theories of the interaction between uncertainty and real activity dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Joshua Bernstein & Michael Plante & Alexander W. Richter & Nathaniel A. Throckmorton, 2024. "A Simple Explanation of Countercyclical Uncertainty," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 143-171, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:16:y:2024:i:4:p:143-71
    DOI: 10.1257/mac.20220134
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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