Inventory Dynamics and Business Cycles

Inventory Dynamics and Business Cycles PDF Author: Egon Zakrajsek
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite the recent patch of sluggish growth, the U.S. economy has experienced a period of remarkable stability since the mid-1980s. One popular explanation attributes the diminished variability of economic activity to information-technology-led improvements in inventory management. Our results, however, indicate that the changes in inventory dynamics since the mid-1980s played a reinforcing - rather than a leading-role in the volatility reduction. Movements in the volatility of manufacturing output over the past three decades almost entirely reflect changes in the variability of the growth contribution of sales. Although the volatility of total inventory investment has fallen, the decline occurred well before the mid-1980s and was driven by the reduced variability of materials and supplies. Our analysis does show that since the mid-1980s, inventory dynamics have played a role in stabilizing manufacturing production: Inventory "imbalances" tend to correct more rapidly, and the quicker response of inventories to monetary policy and commodity price shocks buffers production from fluctuations in sales to a greater extent. But more extensive production smoothing and faster dissolution of inventory imbalances appear to be a consequence of changes in the way industry-level sales and aggregate economic activity respond to shocks, rather than a cause of changes in macroeconomic behavior.

Inventory Dynamics and Business Cycles

Inventory Dynamics and Business Cycles PDF Author: Egon Zakrajsek
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite the recent patch of sluggish growth, the U.S. economy has experienced a period of remarkable stability since the mid-1980s. One popular explanation attributes the diminished variability of economic activity to information-technology-led improvements in inventory management. Our results, however, indicate that the changes in inventory dynamics since the mid-1980s played a reinforcing - rather than a leading-role in the volatility reduction. Movements in the volatility of manufacturing output over the past three decades almost entirely reflect changes in the variability of the growth contribution of sales. Although the volatility of total inventory investment has fallen, the decline occurred well before the mid-1980s and was driven by the reduced variability of materials and supplies. Our analysis does show that since the mid-1980s, inventory dynamics have played a role in stabilizing manufacturing production: Inventory "imbalances" tend to correct more rapidly, and the quicker response of inventories to monetary policy and commodity price shocks buffers production from fluctuations in sales to a greater extent. But more extensive production smoothing and faster dissolution of inventory imbalances appear to be a consequence of changes in the way industry-level sales and aggregate economic activity respond to shocks, rather than a cause of changes in macroeconomic behavior.

Business Cycles

Business Cycles PDF Author: Francis X. Diebold
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691219583
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 438

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the most sophisticated and up-to-date econometric analysis of business cycles now available. Francis Diebold and Glenn Rudebusch have long been acknowledged as leading experts on business cycles. And here they present a highly integrative collection of their most important essays on the subject, along with a detailed introduction that draws together the book's principal themes and findings. Diebold and Rudebusch use the latest quantitative methods to address five principal questions about the measurement, modeling, and forecasting of business cycles. They ask whether business cycles have become more moderate in the postwar period, concluding that recessions have, in fact, been shorter and shallower. They consider whether economic expansions and contractions tend to die of "old age." Contrary to popular wisdom, they find little evidence that expansions become more fragile the longer they last, although they do find that contractions are increasingly likely to end as they age. The authors discuss the defining characteristics of business cycles, focusing on how economic variables move together and on the timing of the slow alternation between expansions and contractions. They explore the difficulties of distinguishing between long-term trends in the economy and cyclical fluctuations. And they examine how business cycles can be forecast, looking in particular at how to predict turning points in cycles, rather than merely the level of future economic activity. They show here that the index of leading economic indicators is a poor predictor of future economic activity, and consider what we can learn from other indicators, such as financial variables. Throughout, the authors make use of a variety of advanced econometric techniques, including nonparametric analysis, fractional integration, and regime-switching models. Business Cycles is crucial reading for policymakers, bankers, and business executives.

Inventory Fluctuations and Economic Stabilization

Inventory Fluctuations and Economic Stabilization PDF Author: United States. Congress. Joint Economic Committee
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business cycles
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description


Inventory, Business Cycles and Monetary Transmission

Inventory, Business Cycles and Monetary Transmission PDF Author: Riccardo Fiorito
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642468063
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
Inventory changes constitute in all countries a small fraction of the Gross National Product but also a major source or an indicator of cyclical fluctuations. In this volume both possible ways of propagation are investigated by examining in the first part what macroeconomists have learned and still have to learn about inventories in the light of statistical definitions and problems. In the second part, the role of monetary shocks in propagating business cycles is considered through liquidity effects and in relation to inventory adjustment. A possible linkage between inventory and labor market is shown. Finally, new evidence and theoretical insights are provided on the linear-quadratic inventory model and its ability to discriminate econometrically among competing firm behavior.

Financial Dynamics and Business Cycles

Financial Dynamics and Business Cycles PDF Author: Willi Semmler
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315288796
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Get Book Here

Book Description
As the 55th anniversary of the bank holiday of March 1933 approached, financial instability was a main topic in the financial press. Daily reports appeared of international debt crises, of the covert bankruptcy of deposit insurance, and of the near bankruptcy of one great financial institution after another. The great stock market crash of October 19 and 20, 1987, demonstrated that extreme instability can happen. It is generally asserted that the consequences of October 19th and 20th would have been disastrous if the Federal Reserve and Treasury interventions had not set things right. In 1933, financial markets in the United States and throughout the capitalist world collapsed. In the light of historical experience, the past 55 years are the anomaly. The papers collected in this volume come from various backgrounds and research paradigms. A common theme runs through these papers that makes the collection both interesting and important: The authors take seriously the obvious evidence that capitalist economies progress through time by lurching. Whether a particular study starts from household utility maximization or from the processes by which productive structures are reproduced and expanded, the authors are united in accepting the evidence that financial instability is a significant characteristic of modern capitalism.

The Dynamics of Business Cycles

The Dynamics of Business Cycles PDF Author: Michael Reiter
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642959199
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 213

Get Book Here

Book Description
This study is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation at the Economics Department of the University of Munich. I want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to some people who have helped me in my work. My greatest thanks go to the supervisor of this dissertation, Professor Claude Billinger. Bis ideas have formed the basis of my work. Be permanently sup ported it with a host of ideas, criticism and encouragement. Furthermore, he provided a stimulating research environment at SEMECON. This study would not have been possible in this form without the help of my present and former colleagues at SEMECON. I am indebted to Rudolf Kohne-Volland, Monika Sebold-Bender and Ulrich Woitek for providing soft ware and guidance for the data analysis. Discussions with them and with Thilo Weser have helped me to take many hurdles, particularly in the early stages of the project. My sincere thanks go to them all. I had the opportunity to present a former version of my growth model at a workshop of Professor Klaus Zimmermann. I want to thank all the parti cipants for their helpful comments. I also acknowledge critical and constructive comments from an anonymous referee. Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Part I. Methodology 1. Importance of Stylized Facts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1.1 Limitations of statistical testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1.2 Evaluating economic models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 11 . . . . . . 2. Further Methodological Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 13 . . . . . .

What Inventory Behavior Tells Us About How Business Cycles Have Changed

What Inventory Behavior Tells Us About How Business Cycles Have Changed PDF Author: Thomas Lubik
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 41

Get Book Here

Book Description
Beginning in the mid-1980s, the nature of U.S. business cycles changed in important ways, as made evident by distinctive shifts in the comovement and relative volatilities of key economic aggregates. These include labor productivity, hours, output, and inventories. Unlike the widely documented change in absolute volatility over that period, known as the Great Moderation, these shifts in comovement and relative volatilities persist into the Great Recession. To understand these changes, we exploit the fact that inventory data are informative about sources of business cycles. Specifically, they provide additional information relative to aggregate investment regarding firms' intertemporal decisions. In this paper, we show that the "investment wedge" estimated with inventories, unlike previous measures, correlates well with established independent measures of credit market frictions. Furthermore, contrary to previous findings, our generalized investment wedge informed by inventory behavior plays a key role in explaining the shifts in U.S. business cycles observed after the mid-1980s.

Inventory in Theory and Practice

Inventory in Theory and Practice PDF Author: Attila Chikán
Publisher: Akademiai Kiads
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 818

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Evolution of Inventory Dynamics in a Post-Crisis Economy

The Evolution of Inventory Dynamics in a Post-Crisis Economy PDF Author: Corey Williams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Inventories are of historical importance to describing business cycles and production volatility. While research in inventories is relatively mature, the growing attention to global value chains and commodity shortages in recent quarters warrants a return and critical reassessment of inventories as a business cycle feature. Herein, we estimate the persistence, volatility, and adjustment rates of inventories over different periods, paying particular attention to the period following the Financial Crisis. We find through the estimation of a flexible accelerator model that inventories continue to exhibit strong persistence while the persistence of sales has simultaneously diminished. Using standard volatility metrics within the literature, we illustrate that production volatility relative to sales volatility is highest from 2007 onward. Finally, we uncover evidence from several vector error correction models that the adjustment speed and cointegrating relationship between inventory and sales has deteriorated in the years following the Financial Crisis. This evidence suggests the need for a structural model that can identify the mechanisms underlying these critical changes in inventory dynamics during the post-crisis era.

Cyclical Behavior of Inventories and Growth Projections Recent Evidence From Europe and the United States

Cyclical Behavior of Inventories and Growth Projections Recent Evidence From Europe and the United States PDF Author: Mr.Jens R. Clausen
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1455205435
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 40

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the United States and a few European countries, inventory behavior is mainly the outcome of demand shocks: a standard buffer-stock model best characterizes these economies. But most European countries are described by a modified buffer-stock model where supply shocks dominate. In contrast to the United States, inventories boost growth with a one-year lag in Europe. Moreover, inventories provide limited information to improve growth forecasts particularly when a modified buffer-stock model characterizes inventory behavior.