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The Ifo Business-Cycle Clock: A precision instrument for the analysis of the economy

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  • Klaus Abberger
  • Wolfgang Nierhaus

Abstract

The Ifo Business Climate, the most important indicator for economic activity in Germany, is defined as a mean value of the two components of "current business situation" and "business expectations for the next six months". In 1993 the Ifo Institute presented for the first time the cyclical connection between the two components of the business climate in a four-quadrant economic-activity scheme: the Ifo Business-Cycle Clock. Unlike the usual depiction of indicators along a time axis, the economic activity in this diagram - visualized as a situation/expectation graph - moves clockwise in a circular form, since the expectation indicator leads the current situation indicator. This article examines the most important qualities of the Ifo Business-Cycle Clock.

Suggested Citation

  • Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2008. "The Ifo Business-Cycle Clock: A precision instrument for the analysis of the economy," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 61(23), pages 16-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ifosdt:v:61:y:2008:i:23:p:16-24
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geoffrey H. Moore & Julius Shiskin, 1967. "Indicators of Business Expansions and Contractions," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number moor67-2, March.
    2. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2007. "The Ifo Business Climate: A reliable leading indicator," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 60(05), pages 25-30, March.
    3. Canova, Fabio, 1998. "Detrending and business cycle facts," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 475-512, May.
    4. Wolfgang Nierhaus & Willi Leibfritz, 1993. "Westdeutsche Wirtschaft : wie tief ist die Rezession?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 46(07), pages 10-15, October.
    5. Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2007. "Vierteljährliche volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen für Sachsen mit Hilfe temporaler Disaggregation," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 14(04), pages 24-36, 08.
    6. Klaus Abberger & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2006. "Forecasting qualities of the Ifo Business Climate Index - a look at recent studies," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 59(22), pages 19-26, November.
    7. Chow, Gregory C & Lin, An-loh, 1971. "Best Linear Unbiased Interpolation, Distribution, and Extrapolation of Time Series by Related Series," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(4), pages 372-375, November.
    8. Klaus Abberger, 2006. "Another Look at the Ifo Business Cycle Clock," Journal of Business Cycle Measurement and Analysis, OECD Publishing, Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys, vol. 2005(3), pages 431-443.
    9. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2008. "Ifo capacity utilisation – a coincident indicator for business activity in German manufacturing," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 61(16), pages 15-23, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2010. "The Ifo Business Cycle Clock: Circular Correlation with the Real GDP," CESifo Working Paper Series 3179, CESifo.
    2. António Rua & Nuno Lourenço, 2022. "Business cycle clocks: Time to get circular," Working Papers w202201, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    3. Ulrich Heilemann & Susanne Schnorr-Bäcker, 2016. "Could The Start Of The German Recession 2008-2009 Have Been Foreseen? Evidence From Real-Time Data," Working Papers 2016-003, The George Washington University, Department of Economics, H. O. Stekler Research Program on Forecasting.
    4. Robert Lehmann, 2023. "The Forecasting Power of the ifo Business Survey," Journal of Business Cycle Research, Springer;Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET), vol. 19(1), pages 43-94, March.
    5. Nuno Lourenço & António Rua, 2023. "Business cycle clocks: Time to get circular," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(4), pages 1513-1541, October.
    6. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2011. "Die ifo Konjunkturuhr: Zirkulare Korrelation mit dem realen Bruttoinlandsprodukt," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 5(3), pages 179-201, December.
    7. Christian Seiler & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2013. "The Ifo Business Climate and the German Economy," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 66(18), pages 17-21, October.
    8. Werner Hölzl & Gerhard Schwarz, 2014. "Der WIFO-Konjunkturtest: Methodik und Prognoseeigenschaften," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 87(12), pages 835-850, December.
    9. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2010. "Drei Monitorsysteme zur Analyse der sächsischen Industriekonjunktur," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(06), pages 33-39, December.
    10. Beate Schirwitz & Christian Seiler & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2009. "Regional business cycles in Germany - Part 1: The data situation," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 62(13), pages 18-24, July.
    11. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2017. "Testing the Ifo Business Cycle Clock," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 70(04), pages 24-30, February.
    12. Heilemann Ullrich & Schnorr-Bäcker Susanne, 2017. "Could the start of the German recession 2008–2009 have been foreseen? Evidence from Real-Time Data," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 237(1), pages 29-62, February.
    13. Klaus Abberger & Wolfgang Nierhaus, 2010. "The Ifo Business Cycle Clock: circular correlation with GDP," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 63(05), pages 32-43, March.
    14. Wolfgang Nierhaus & Timo Wollmershäuser, 2016. "ifo Konjunkturumfragen und Konjunkturanalyse: Band II," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 72.

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    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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