Chapter 3Time to Build and Aggregate Fluctuations

Econometrica 50(6), November 1982, pp. 1345-1369.

BY FINN E. KYDLAND AND EDWARD C.PRESCOTT1

     The equilibrium growth model is modified and used to explain the cyclical variances of a set of economic time series, the covariances between real output and the other series, and the autocovariance of output. The model is fitted to quarterly data for the post-war U.S. economy. Crucial features of the model are the assumption that more than one time period is required for the construction of new productive capital, and the non-time-separable utility function that admits greater intertemporal substitution of leisure. The fit is surprisingly good in light of the model’s simplicity and the small number ...

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