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Shocks versus Responsiveness: What Drives Time-Varying Dispersion?

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  • David Berger
  • Joseph Vavra

Abstract

The dispersion of many economic variables is countercyclical. What drives this fact? Greater dispersion could arise from greater volatility of shocks or from agents responding more to shocks of constant size. Without data separately measuring exogenous shocks and endogenous responses, a theoretical debate between these explanations has emerged. In this paper, we provide novel identification using price data in the open-economy environment: using confidential BLS microdata, we document a robust positive relationship between exchange rate pass-through and the dispersion of item-level price changes. We then show that this relationship supports models with time-varying responsiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • David Berger & Joseph Vavra, 2019. "Shocks versus Responsiveness: What Drives Time-Varying Dispersion?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(5), pages 2104-2142.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/701790
    DOI: 10.1086/701790
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    Cited by:

    1. Efrem Castelnuovo, 2022. "Uncertainty Before and During COVID-19: A Survey," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0279, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    2. Karadi, Peter & Amann, Juergen & Bachiller, Javier Sánchez & Seiler, Pascal & Wursten, Jesse, 2023. "Price setting on the two sides of the Atlantic - Evidence from supermarket scanner data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(S), pages 1-17.
    3. Olivier Wang & Iván Werning, 2022. "Dynamic Oligopoly and Price Stickiness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(8), pages 2815-2849, August.
    4. DongIk Kang & Andrew Usher, 2023. "Does Product Revenue Matter for Price Setting and Monetary Policy Transmission?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 47, pages 297-345, January.
    5. S. Boragan Aruoba & Eugene Oue & Felipe Saffie & Jonathan L. Willis, 2023. "Real Rigidities, Firm Dynamics, and Monetary Nonneutrality: The Role of Demand Shocks," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2023-03, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    6. Carlsson, Mikael & Clymo, Alex & Joslin, Knut-Eric, 2022. "Dispersion Over The Business Cycle:Passthrough,Productivity, And Demand," Working Paper Series 414, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    7. William L. Gamber, 2021. "Entry, Variable Markups, and Business Cycles," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-077, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Sebastian Heise, 2019. "Firm-to-Firm Relationships and the Pass-Through of Shocks: Theory and Evidence," Staff Reports 896, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    9. Gondhi, Naveen, 2023. "Rational inattention, misallocation, and the aggregate economy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 50-75.
    10. David R. Munro, 2021. "Consumer Behavior and Firm Volatility," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(4), pages 845-873, June.
    11. Ruediger Bachmann & Kai Carstensen & Stefan Lautenbacher & Martin Schneider, 2021. "Uncertainty and Change: Survey Evidence of Firms' Subjective Beliefs," NBER Working Papers 29430, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Shuowen Chen & Yang Ming, 2021. "R&D Heterogeneity and Countercyclical Productivity Dispersion," Papers 2108.02272, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2022.
    13. Shuowen Chen, 2022. "Indirect Inference for Nonlinear Panel Models with Fixed Effects," Papers 2203.10683, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2022.

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