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Measurement error in general equilibrium: the aggregate effects of noisy economic indicators

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Abstract

I analyze the business cycle implications of noisy economic indicators in the context of a dynamic general equilibrium model. Two main results emerge. First, measurement error in preliminary data releases can have a quantitatively important effect on economic fluctuations. For instance, under efficient signal-extraction, the introduction of accurate economic indicators would make aggregate output 10 to 30 percent more volatile than suggested by the post-war experience of the U.S. economy. Second, the sign---but not the magnitude---of the measurement error effect depends crucially on the signal processing capabilities of agents. In particular, if agents take the noisy data at face value, significant improvements in the quality of key economic indicators would lead to considerably less cyclical volatility.

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  • Antulio N. Bomfim, 1999. "Measurement error in general equilibrium: the aggregate effects of noisy economic indicators," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 1999-54, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:1999-54
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    Cited by:

    1. Markku Lanne, 2009. "Properties of Market-Based and Survey Macroeconomic Forecasts for Different Data Releases," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(3), pages 2231-2240.
    2. Jeffery Amato & Hyun Song Shin, 2003. "Public and Private Information in Monetary Policy Models," Levine's Bibliography 666156000000000092, UCLA Department of Economics.
    3. Fabrice Collard & Harris Dellas, 2010. "Monetary Misperceptions, Output, and Inflation Dynamics," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(2-3), pages 483-502, March.
    4. Guido Lorenzoni, 2009. "A Theory of Demand Shocks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(5), pages 2050-2084, December.
    5. Stefano Neri & Tiziano Ropele, 2012. "Imperfect Information, Real‐Time Data and Monetary Policy in the Euro Area," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(561), pages 651-674, June.
    6. Andersen, Torben M. & Beier, Niels C., 2005. "International transmission of transitory and persistent monetary shocks under imperfect information," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 485-507, July.
    7. Lanne, Markku, 2007. "The Properties of Market-Based and Survey Forecasts for Different Data Releases," MPRA Paper 3877, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Dean Croushore, 2011. "Frontiers of Real-Time Data Analysis," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 72-100, March.
    9. Brad Baxter & Liam Graham & Stephen Wright, 2007. "The Endogenous Kalman Filter," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0719, Birkbeck, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics.
    10. Gregory E. Givens, 2017. "Do Data Revisions Matter for DSGE Estimation?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(6), pages 1385-1407, September.
    11. Hiroatsu Tanaka, 2022. "Equilibrium Yield Curves with Imperfect Information," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-086, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Lansing, Kevin J., 2021. "Endogenous forecast switching near the zero lower bound," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 153-169.

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    Economic indicators; Business cycles;

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