Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
We use first differenced logged quarterly series for the GDP of 29 countries and the euro area to assess the need to use non-linear models to describe business cycle dynamic behaviour. Our approach is model (estimation)-free, based on testing only. We aim to maximize power to detect non-linearities while, simultaneously, avoiding the pitfalls of data mining. The evidence we find does not support some descriptions because the presence of significant non-linearities is observed for two-thirds of the countries only. Linear models cannot be simply dismissed as they are frequently useful. Contrarily to common knowledge, non-linear business cycle variation does not seem to be a universal, undisputable and clearly dominant stylized fact. This finding is particularly surprising for the U.S. case. Some support for non-linear dynamics for some further countries is obtained indirectly, through unit root tests, but this can hardly be invoked to support non-linearity in classical business cycles.