Characterizing India’s Financial Cycle

Abstract

The severity of the effects of global financial crisis resuscitates the need for assessing the macro-financial linkages and measuring financial cycle to prevent the economy from major financial shocks. Our article measures financial cycle by using turning point analysis, spectral analysis and band-pass filter and provides the evidence on the existence of financial cycle in India. We find the length and duration of cycles in financial variables are much greater as compared to the business cycle. While both credit and equity prices drive financial cycles over time, the contribution of house prices has increased since mid-2000s. We find that the expansionary phase of the financial cycle provides an early warning signal about stress build-up in the banking sector and impending depress in the economy. JEL Codes: C22, E30, E44, E58, G18