Volatility, Growth, and Large Welfare Gains from Stabilization Policies

Abstract

This paper proposes a simple endogenous-fluctuations growth model to show: 1) long-run growth and short-run fluctuations can be intimately linked; in particular, the rate of long run growth can be negatively affected by volatilities; 2) imperfect competition can cause endogenous fluctuations, and it reduces not only the level of output but also its mean growth rate by amplifying the volatility of the economy; and 3) the welfare gain of stabilization policy can be enormous (e.g., as high as 25% of annual consumption when calibrated to the U.S. data) because policies designed to reduce sunspots-driven fluctuations can generate permanently higher rates of growth.