Endogenous technology adoption and R & D as sources of business cycle persistence

We examine the hypothesis that the slowdown in productivity following the Great Recession was in significant part an endogenous response to the contraction in demand that induced the downturn. We motivate, develop, and estimate a model with an endogenous TFP mechanism that allows for costly developm...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anzoategui, D. (Author), Comin, D. (Author), Gertler, M. (Author), Martinez, J. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Economic Association 2019
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
Description
Summary:We examine the hypothesis that the slowdown in productivity following the Great Recession was in significant part an endogenous response to the contraction in demand that induced the downturn. We motivate, develop, and estimate a model with an endogenous TFP mechanism that allows for costly development and adoption of technologies. Our main finding is that a significant fraction of the post- Great Recession fall in productivity was an endogenous phenomenon, suggesting that demand factors played an important role in the postcrisis slowdown of capacity growth. More generally, we provide insight into why recoveries from financial crises may be so slow. © 2019 American Economic Association.
ISBN:19457707 (ISSN)
DOI:10.1257/mac.20170269