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Indicator-based estimates of the output gap in the euro area

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  • Weiske, Sebastian

Abstract

The output gap is a key variable of business cycle analysis and policy. Obtaining reliable estimates for it, is very difficult, though. Most real-time estimates are frequently revised over time. The idea of this paper is to use various indicators, for example from business surveys, that (i) were highly correlated with the output gap in the past and (ii) that are ideally not subject to revisions. According to a real-time analysis, indicator-based estimates prove to be more reliable than estimates from international institutions. Currently, estimates point to positive output gaps in the euro area.

Suggested Citation

  • Weiske, Sebastian, 2019. "Indicator-based estimates of the output gap in the euro area," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203604, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc19:203604
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/203604/1/VfS-2019-pid-28013.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marianne Baxter & Robert G. King, 1999. "Measuring Business Cycles: Approximate Band-Pass Filters For Economic Time Series," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(4), pages 575-593, November.
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    4. Marek Jarociński & Michele Lenza, 2018. "An Inflation‐Predicting Measure of the Output Gap in the Euro Area," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(6), pages 1189-1224, September.
    5. John G. Fernald, 2015. "Productivity and Potential Output before, during, and after the Great Recession," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 1-51.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business Cycles; Output Gap; Real-time Estimation; Business Survey Data;

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

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