What Is in Your Output Gap? Unified Framework & Decomposition into Observables
Electronic Access:
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Summary:
This paper discusses several popular methods to estimate the ‘output gap’. It provides a unified, natural concept for the analysis, and demonstrates how to decompose the output gap into contributions of observed data on output, inflation, unemployment, and other variables. A simple bar-chart of contributing factors, in the case of multi-variable methods, sharpens the intuition behind the estimates and ultimately shows ‘what is in your output gap.’ The paper demonstrates how to interpret effects of data revisions and new data releases for output gap estimates (news effects) and how to obtain more insight into real-time properties of estimators.
Series:
Working Paper No. 2013/105
Subject:
Capacity utilization Econometric analysis Estimation techniques Inflation Output gap Potential output Prices Production Production growth
English
Publication Date:
May 10, 2013
ISBN/ISSN:
9781484399552/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2013105
Pages:
45
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