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Aging, Secular Stagnation, and the Business Cycle

Author

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  • Callum Jones

    (Federal Reserve Board)

Abstract

By the end of 2019, U.S. output was 14% below the level predicted by its pre-2008 trend. To understand why, I develop and estimate a model of the United States with demographics, real and monetary shocks, and the occasionally binding zero lower bound on nominal rates. Demographic shocks generate slow-moving trends in interest rates, employment, and productivity. Demographics alone can explain about 40% of the gap between log output per capita and its linear trend by 2019. By lowering interest rates, demographic changes caused the zero lower bound to bind after the Great Recession, contributing to the slow recovery.

Suggested Citation

  • Callum Jones, 2023. "Aging, Secular Stagnation, and the Business Cycle," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1580-1595, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:105:y:2023:i:6:p:1580-1595
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01177
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Beames & Mariano Kulish & Nadine Yamout, 2022. "Fiscal Policy and the Slowdown in Trend Growth in an Open Economy," Working Papers 143, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    2. Naoko Hara & Yoshiyasu Ono, 2025. "Is the 2 Percent Inflation Target Sufficient? The Wealth Preference Approach," ISER Discussion Paper 1282, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka.
    3. Etienne Gagnon & Benjamin K. Johannsen & David López-Salido, 2021. "Understanding the New Normal: The Role of Demographics," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(2), pages 357-390, June.
    4. Lis, Eliza & Nickel, Christiane & Papetti, Andrea, 2020. "Demographics and inflation in the euro area: a two-sector new Keynesian perspective," Working Paper Series 2382, European Central Bank.
    5. Neri, Stefano & Gerali, Andrea, 2019. "Natural rates across the Atlantic," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Kulish, Mariano & Yamout, Nadine, 2024. "The fiscal arithmetic of a slowdown in trend growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Brand, Claus & Bielecki, Marcin & Penalver, Adrian, 2018. "The natural rate of interest: estimates, drivers, and challenges to monetary policy JEL Classification: E52, E43," Occasional Paper Series 217, European Central Bank.
    8. Ambrocio, Gene, 2023. "Demographic aging and the New Keynesian Phillips Curve," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 16/2023, Bank of Finland.
    9. Bielecki, Marcin & Brzoza-Brzezina, Michał & Kolasa, Marcin, 2020. "Demographics and the natural interest rate in the euro area," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    10. Mai Dao & Callum Jones, 2018. "Demographics, Old-Age Transfers and the Current Account," IMF Working Papers 2018/264, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Auclert, Adrien & Malmberg, Hannes & Martenet, Frederic & Rognlie, Matthew, 2021. "Demographics, Wealth, and Global Imbalances in the Twenty-First Century," CEPR Discussion Papers 16470, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Gauti B. Eggertsson & Neil R. Mehrotra & Jacob A. Robbins, 2019. "A Model of Secular Stagnation: Theory and Quantitative Evaluation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 1-48, January.
    13. Beames, Alexander & Kulish, Mariano & Yamout, Nadine, 2020. "Implications of the Slowdown in Trend Growth for Fiscal Policy in a Small Open Economy," Working Papers 2020-17, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    14. Mr. Luis M. Cubeddu & Signe Krogstrup & Gustavo Adler & Mr. Pau Rabanal & Mai Dao & Mrs. Swarnali A Hannan & Luciana Juvenal & Ms. Carolina Osorio-Buitron & Cyril Rebillard & Mr. Daniel Garcia-Macia &, 2019. "The External Balance Assessment Methodology: 2018 Update," IMF Working Papers 2019/065, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Papetti, Andrea, 2021. "Demographics and the natural real interest Rate: historical and projected paths for the euro area," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    16. Daniel Baksa & Zsuzsa Munkacsi, 2019. "More Gray, More Volatile? Aging and (Optimal) Monetary Policy," IMF Working Papers 2019/198, International Monetary Fund.
    17. Nicolo Maffei-Faccioli, 2020. "Identifying the Sources of the Slowdown in Growth: Demand vs. Supply," 2020 Papers pma2978, Job Market Papers.
    18. Nicolò Maffei‐Faccioli, 2025. "Identifying the Sources of the Slowdown in Growth: Demand Versus Supply," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 181-194, March.
    19. Giacomo Mangiante, 2022. "Demographic Trends and the Transmission of Monetary Policy," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 22.04, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    20. Dantas Guimarães, Silvana & Ferreira Tiryaki, Gisele, 2020. "The impact of population aging on business cycles volatility: International evidence," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    21. Han, Fei, 2024. "The impact of demographic change on the natural rate of interest in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    22. Aditya Aladangady & Etienne Gagnon & Benjamin K. Johannsen & William B. Peterman, 2021. "Macroeconomic Implications of Inequality and Income Risk," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-073, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    23. Gilles Dufrénot & Mathilde Esposito & Eva Moreno-Galbis, 2025. "Demographic Winter, Economic Structure and Productivity in Japan," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Gilles Dufrénot & Kimiko Sugimoto (ed.), Emerging Markets and Industrialized Countries in the New Wave of Globalization, pages 206-242, Springer.
    24. Nicolò Maffei-Faccioli, 2021. "Identifying the sources of the slowdown in growth: Demand vs. supply," Working Paper 2021/9, Norges Bank.
    25. Nickel, Christiane & Kilponen, Juha & Moral-Benito, Enrique & Koester, Gerrit & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Enders, Almira & Holton, Sarah & Landau, Bettina & Venditti, Fabrizio & Bobeica, Elena & Brand, Cla, 2025. "A strategic view on the economic and inflation environment in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 371, European Central Bank.

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