Financial Acceleration of Booms and Busts

Abstract

For a panel of 20 industrialized countries from 1970 through 2002,we analyze the role of financial variables in economic cycles. We focus on equity busts, which are considered a proxy for downward revisions of economic prospects. Our empirical findings provide support for financial accelerator effects around asset price busts. The financial accelerator mechanism appears to have become stronger over time. The typical bust is followed by a reduction in nominal policy interest rates, sometimes to levels close to the zero lower bound.