Two Flaws In Business Cycle Accounting

Using 'business cycle accounting' (BCA), Chari, Kehoe and McGrattan (2006) (CKM) conclude that models of financial frictions which create a wedge in the intertemporal Euler equation are not promising avenues for modeling business cycle dynamics. There are two reasons that this conclusion is not warranted. First, small changes in the implementation of BCA overturn CKM's conclusions. Second, one way that shocks to the intertemporal wedge impact on the economy is by their spillover effects onto other wedges. This potentially important mechanism for the transmission of intertemporal wedge shocks is not identified under BCA. CKM potentially understate the importance of these shocks by adopting the extreme position that spillover effects are zero.

EFRC Bulletin 77

EFRC's regular newletter covering policy, agricutlural research, policy and advisory wor

Two flaws in business cycle dating

Using “business cycle accounting,” Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan (2006) conclude that models of financial frictions which create a wedge in the intertemporal Euler equation are not promising avenues for modeling business cycle dynamics. There are two reasons that this conclusion is not warranted. First, small changes in the implementation of business cycle accounting overturn Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan’s conclusions. Second, one way that shocks to the intertemporal wedge affect the economy is by their spillover effects onto other wedges. This potentially important mechanism for the transmission of intertemporal-wedge shocks is not identified under business cycle accounting. Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan potentially understate the importance of these shocks by adopting the extreme position that spillover effects are zero.Business cycles

Microstructural Geochronology of Zircon Across the Central Uplift of the Vredefort Impact Structure, South Africa

The Vredefort central uplift, or ‘dome,’ represents the erosional remnant of one of the largest (~300 km diameter) and oldest (~2.020 Ga) terrestrial impact structures. This investigation was performed to help elucidate the complexity of the shock process on zircon, incorporating various electron beam methods, including BSE and SE imaging, EBSD, CL, and EDS (mapping and semi-quantitative compositional analysis). A new shock microstructural progression in terrestrial zircon is suggested, as well as a complete structure-wide analysis of impact melt inclusions in zircon. Regional trends in the effects of shock on zircon are included. Impact melt glass inclusion compositions vary widely, from felsic to mafic inclusions, and are related to the melting of local minerals. This study is significant for the future study of similiar impact structures on other rocky planets, and the quantification and qualification of shock conditions as recorded in zircon

Transport planning for health : explaining and evaluating barriers and opportunities to intersectoral collaboration

The establishment in the 1980s of a European Health for All strategy and set of targets has implications for transport planning policy across Europe. Potentially, Health for All provides a means by which transport planning can better promote public health. Key to this is the ability of local Health for All projects to develop effective intersectoral collaboration with transport planning professionals. The progress of Health for All in influencing priorities in transport planning is explored through a comparative study of Health for All collaborating cities in Denmark, the Netherlands and England between 1986 and 1996. Three cities are used as case studies: Copenhagen, Groningen, and Sheffield. The study examines the extent to which transport policies have been influenced by Health for All strategies and targets. Archival and interview data are used to explore the nature and degree of intersectoral collaboration between Health for All projects and transport planning departments. The research contributes to knowledge about how Health for All can influence transport planning in promoting health, an issue largely neglected in the literature. There are similarities and differences between Health for All projects studied in the way that they have sought to develop intersectoral collaboration on transport issues. The research highlights common barriers to effective collaboration, but also how Health for All projects could develop collaborative initiatives. It indicates that health needs to be translated into values such as quality of life, equity, and environmental protection, found to be policy drivers within transport planning. Quality of life and equity are identified in Health for All targets but were not drawn on sufficiently by health promoters. The study findings also underscore the importance of national policy frameworks on both health and transport which can provide common ground between the two sectors. The most successful city Health for All project was characterised by concerns for environmental protection and quality of life, with supportive national government frameworks for health promotion and transport planning