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Uncertainty Traps

Author Info

  • Pablo Fajgelbaum
  • Edouard Schaal
  • Mathieu Taschereau-Dumouchel

Abstract

We develop a theory of endogenous uncertainty and business cycles in which short-lived shocks can generate long-lasting recessions. In the model, higher uncertainty about fundamentals discourages investment. Since agents learn from the actions of others, information flows slowly in times of low activity and uncertainty remains high, further discouraging investment. The economy displays uncertainty traps: self-reinforcing episodes of high uncertainty and low activity. While the economy recovers quickly after small shocks, large temporary shocks may have long-lasting effects on the level of activity. The economy is subject to an information externality but uncertainty traps may remain in the efficient allocation. Embedding the mechanism in a standard business cycle framework, we find that endogenous uncertainty increases the persistence of large recessions and improves the performance of the model in accounting for the Great Recession.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 19973.

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Date of creation: Mar 2014
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19973
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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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  1. Ruediger Bachmann & Steffen Elstner & Eric R. Sims, 2010. "Uncertainty and Economic Activity: Evidence from Business Survey Data," NBER Working Papers 16143, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Frankel, David M. & Pauzner, Ady, 2000. "Resolving Indeterminacy in Dynamic Settings: The Role of Shocks," Staff General Research Papers Archive 11924, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
  3. Hernan Moscoso Boedo & Pablo D'Erasmo, 2013. "Intangibles and Endogenous Firm Volatility over the Business Cycle," 2013 Meeting Papers 97, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  4. Bachmann, Ruediger & Bayer, Christian, 2009. "Firm-specific productivity risk over the business cycle: facts and aggregate implications," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2009,15, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre.
  5. Christophe Chamley, 1999. "Coordinating Regime Switches," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(3), pages 869-905.
  6. repec:pri:cepsud:234kaplan is not listed on IDEAS
  7. Chamley, Christophe & Gale, Douglas, 1994. "Information Revelation and Strategic Delay in a Model of Investment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(5), pages 1065-85, September.
  8. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817.
  9. Andrew Caplin & John Leahy, 1993. "Sectoral Shocks, Learning, and Aggregate Fluctuations," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 60(4), pages 777-794.
  10. George-Marios Angeletos & Christian Hellwig & Alessandro Pavan, 2007. "Dynamic Global Games of Regime Change: Learning, Multiplicity, and the Timing of Attacks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(3), pages 711-756, 05.
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Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Uncertainty and the business cycle
    by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2014-03-30 16:38:48
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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Cited by:

  1. Alexopoulos, Michelle & Cohen, Jon, 2015. "The power of print: Uncertainty shocks, markets, and the economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 8-28.
  2. Shoag, Daniel & Veuger, Stan, 2015. "Uncertainty and the Geography of the Great Recession," Working Paper Series rwp15-014, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
  3. Julian Kozlowski & Laura Veldkamp & Venky Venkateswaran, 2015. "The Tail that Wags the Economy: Belief-Driven Business Cycles and Persistent Stagnation," NBER Working Papers 21719, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Mayumi Ojima & Junnosuke Shino & Kozo Ueda, 2014. "Buyer-Size Discounts and Inflation Dynamics," UTokyo Price Project Working Paper Series 017, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
  5. Pablo Kurlat, 2015. "Liquidity as Social Expertise," NBER Working Papers 21118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Hikaru Saijo, . "The Uncertainty Multiplier and Business Cycles," Working Papers e67, Tokyo Center for Economic Research.

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