Business Cycle Accounting: How Important are Technology Shocks as a Propagation Mechanism? Some New Evidence from Japan

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of technology shocks as a propagation mechanism for business cycles using the new technique of business cycle accounting (BCA) and some new evidence from Japan. BCA technique enables us to model the economy as a standard growth model, but extends it to allow multiple propagation channels (referred to as wedges). Applying it to Japan during the period 1980 to 2000, I find that though technology shocks play an important role in propagating market frictions, they are by no means enough to account for the observed economic fluctuations. Investment wedges play a major role, something that standard RBC models fail to recognize and consequently tends to overemphasize the role of technology shocks.