Technology Shocks and Predictable Minsky Cycles

A-Tier
Journal: Economic Journal
Year: 2024
Volume: 134
Issue: 658
Pages: 811-836

Authors (3)

Jean-Paul L’Huillier (not in RePEc) Gregory Phelan (Williams College) Hunter Wieman (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Big technological improvements in a new, secondary sector lead to a period of excitement about the future prospects of the overall economy, generating boom-bust dynamics propagating through credit markets. Increased future capital prices relax collateral constraints today, leading to a boom before the realisation of the shock. But reallocation of capital toward the secondary sector when the shock hits leads to a bust going forward. These cycles are perfectly foreseen in our model, making them markedly different from the typical narrative about unexpected financial shocks used to explain crises. Our dynamics obtain without a departure from rational expectations. In fact, these cycles echo Minsky’s original narrative for financial cycles, according to which ‘financial trauma occur [sic] as normal functioning events in a capitalistic economy’ (Minsky, 1980, p. 21).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:econjl:v:134:y:2024:i:658:p:811-836.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29