Are Business Cycles Symmetric?

J. Bradford De Long and Lawrence H. Summers
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: James Bradford DeLong ()

No 1444, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This note shows that contrary to widespread belief there is little evidence that the business cycle is asymmetric. Using American data for the pre- and post-war periods and data on five other major OECD nations for the post-war period, we are unable to support the hypothesis that contractions are shorter and sharper than expansions. We conclude that there is not much basis for preferring some version of traditional cyclical techniques to more modern statistical methods.

Date: 1986-11
Note: EFG
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