On Sunspot Fluctuations in Variable Capacity Utilization Models

Frédéric Dufourt, Alain Venditti and Rémi Vivès

No 1827, AMSE Working Papers from Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France

Abstract: We investigate the extent to which standard one sector RBC models with positive externalities and variable capacity utilization can account for the large hump- shaped response of output when the model is submitted to a pure sunspot shock. We refine the Benhabib and Wen (2004) model considering a general type of additive separable preferences and a general production function. We provide a detailed theoretical analysis of local stabilities and local bifurcations as a function of various structural parameters. We show that, when labor is infinitely elastic, local indeterminacy occurs through Flip and Hopf bifurcations for a large set of values for the elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption, the degree of increasing returns to scale and the elasticity of capital- labor substitution. Finally, we provide a detailed quantitative assessment of the model and conclude with mixed results. We show that although the model is able theoretically to generate a hump-shaped dynamics of output following an i.i.d. sunspot shock under realistic parameter values, the hump is too persistent for the model to be considered fully satisfactory from an empirical point of view.

Keywords: Indeterminacy; real business cycles; sunspot shock; capacity utilization; externalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C62 E32 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2017-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dge, nep-mac and nep-ore
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: On sunspot fluctuations in variable capacity utilization models (2018)
Working Paper: On sunspot fluctuations in variable capacity utilization models (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1827

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