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R&D Shocks and News Shocks Ryo Jinnai September 5, 2012 Abstract Most of the theoretical work in the news shock literature abstracts away from structural explanations, assuming instead that news is a pure signal giving agents advance notice that aggregate technology will undergo exogenous change at some future point. This paper proposes that a surprise improvement in sector-specic productivity in the research and development sector can be seen as news about aggregate productivity. I not only oer a deeper explanation for news but also show that the model performs better in matching a broad set of empirical facts than a standard, one-sector neoclassical growth model augmented with exogenous news shocks does. 1 Introduction The expectation-driven business cycle hypothesis postulates that news about the future can be an important source of business cycle uctuations. This theory was originally advanced by Pigou I thank Nobu Kiyotaki for his advice and encouragement. I am also grateful to Roland Benabou, Saroj Bhat- tarai, Francesco Bianchi, Toni Braun, Kenichi Fukushima, Jean-Francois Kagy, Amy Glass, Tatsuro Iwaisako, Den- nis Jansen, Dirk Kruger, Per Krusell, Alisdair McKay, Marc Melitz, Tamas Papp, Woong Yong Park, Bruce Pre- ston, Ricardo Reis, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, Felipe Schwartzman, Chris Sims, Satoru Shimizu, Takuo Sugaya, Jade Vichyanond, Yuichiro Waki, and Anastasia Zervou for their comments. Texas A&M University, 4228 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843; Email: [email protected]; Phone: 1-979-845-7380; Fax: 1-979-847-8757 1

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Page 1: R&D Shocks and News Shocks - canon-igs.org · R&D Shocks and News Shocks ∗ Ryo Jinnai† September 5, 2012 Abstract Most of the theoretical work in the news shock literature abstracts

R&D Shocks and News Shocks∗

Ryo Jinnai†

September 5, 2012

Abstract

Most of the theoretical work in the news shock literature abstracts away from structural

explanations, assuming instead that news is a pure signal giving agents advance notice that

aggregate technology will undergo exogenous change at some future point. This paper proposes

that a surprise improvement in sector-specific productivity in the research and development

sector can be seen as news about aggregate productivity. I not only offer a deeper explanation

for news but also show that the model performs better in matching a broad set of empirical

facts than a standard, one-sector neoclassical growth model augmented with exogenous news

shocks does.

1 Introduction

The expectation-driven business cycle hypothesis postulates that news about the future can be

an important source of business cycle fluctuations. This theory was originally advanced by Pigou

∗I thank Nobu Kiyotaki for his advice and encouragement. I am also grateful to Roland Benabou, Saroj Bhat-

tarai, Francesco Bianchi, Toni Braun, Kenichi Fukushima, Jean-Francois Kagy, Amy Glass, Tatsuro Iwaisako, Den-

nis Jansen, Dirk Kruger, Per Krusell, Alisdair McKay, Marc Melitz, Tamas Papp, Woong Yong Park, Bruce Pre-

ston, Ricardo Reis, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, Felipe Schwartzman, Chris Sims, Satoru Shimizu, Takuo Sugaya, Jade

Vichyanond, Yuichiro Waki, and Anastasia Zervou for their comments.†Texas A&M University, 4228 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843; Email: [email protected]; Phone:

1-979-845-7380; Fax: 1-979-847-8757

1

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(1927) and was resurrected by Beaudry and Portier (2006) in a modern, empirical form that at-

tracted renewed interest from contemporary economists. However, it is difficult to apply this hy-

pothesis to the standard dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model because the model

predicts that the wealth effect of good news causes households to seek additional consumption of

both goods and leisure; hence, contrary to the hypothesis, the model predicts that production will

slow on the arrival of good news. A large body of literature has subsequently been developed that

seeks mechanisms through which the model can generate the appropriate co-movement, i.e., an

economic boom defined as simultaneous expansion in output, consumption, investment, and hours

worked. A short list of the relevant studies includes Beaudry and Portier (2004), who propose

a multi-sector model with complementarity between services and infrastructure; Den Haan and

Kaltenbrunner (2009), who present a matching framework with equilibrium underinvestment; and

Jaimovich and Rebelo (2009), who introduce a class of preferences that weaken the wealth effect

on labor supply. These articles propose many novel solutions that provide important contributions

to our understanding of the sources of business cycles and macroeconomic modeling.1

Conversely, a recent empirical study suggests that the literature’s focus on impact effects may

have been somewhat misplaced. This point was made by Barsky and Sims (2011), who develop a

novel method for identifying news shocks through the application of principal components. Their

method is arguably an improvement over other approaches because it relies solely upon a weak

assumption that a limited number of shocks leads to movements in aggregate technology, whereas

other approaches rely upon auxiliary assumptions about other shocks or on the persistence of

variables. Applying the technique to vector autoregression (VAR) models estimated with U.S. data

leads to surprising results, namely that favorable news about future total factor productivity (TFP)

1Schmitt-Grohe and Uribe (2008) and Fujiwara, Hirose, and Shintani (2011) perform structural Bayesian estima-

tions of the importance of anticipated shocks.

2

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is, on impact, associated with an increase in consumption and decreases in output, investment,

and hours. These results are consistent with the predictions of a wide class of existing DSGE

models, including the most basic neoclassical models.2 Because Barsky and Sims also find that the

identified news shocks explain an important share of output variance at medium frequencies, the

authors argue that the literature should move away from fixing impact co-movements and towards

deeper structural explanations for news.

The current paper proposes such an explanation. Specifically, I propose that a surprise improve-

ment in sector-specific productivity in the research and development (R&D) sector can be seen as

news about aggregate productivity. This idea is laid out in an otherwise standard two-sector neo-

classical growth model with sector-specific productivity shocks that is then evaluated in light of the

data, including the data reported by Barsky and Sims (2011). I show that this two-sector model

performs better in matching a broad set of empirical facts than a standard, one-sector neoclassical

growth model augmented with news shocks does. In other words, the two-sector model offers not

only a deeper explanation for news but also better explanations for the data than the one-sector

model, in which news shocks are introduced in a standard way as in the news shock literature.

In my model economy, R&D is pursued for product development. Specifically, I introduce

product entry subject to sunk product development costs as in Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2012).

These authors stress the consumer love for variety; however, based on an alternative interpretation

that entry and exit take place in the intermediate goods sector as in variety-based endogenous

growth models (see, for example, Romer (1990); Grossman and Helpman (1991); Aghion and

Howitt (1997)), product development can be interpreted as a productivity-enhancing activity.

However, I make two modifications to Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2012), each of which I

2See also Nam and Wang (2010), who apply Barsky and Sims’s identification technique to analyze exchange rate

dynamics.

3

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demonstrate is important in accounting for the empirical findings of Barsky and Sims (2011).

First, I introduce a simple product cycle; that is, a product is initially monopolistically produced

and later, competitively produced. Futagami and Iwaisako (2007) introduce such a structure to

analyze the effects of patent length on social welfare; however, because I take a broad view that the

source of monopoly incorporates not only the formal patent system but also informal protections

surrounding trade secrets and brand image, I call products in the first stage of the product cycle

“innovative products” and products in the second stage of the product cycle “maturing products.”

I also assume that the transition from an innovative product to a maturing product takes place

stochastically.

Second, I introduce knowledge spillover. Specifically, I assume that a larger stock of innova-

tive products improves product innovation efficiency and, more importantly, that this knowledge

spillover is not an externality but is internalized by agents performing R&D. In the endogenous

growth literature, this type of knowledge spillover is introduced to analyze the role of private knowl-

edge accumulation for in-house R&D (see, for example, Smulders and van de Klundert (1995);

Peretto (1996); Peretto (1998)). However, my specification is closer to McGrattan and Prescott

(2010), in which intangible capital is simultaneously useful in both goods-producing sectors and

intangible capital-producing sectors. In particular, the product innovation function in my model

economy is constant returns to scale, as is the production function of intangible capital in McGrat-

tan and Prescott’s model. This assumption greatly simplifies the analysis because it allows the

introduction of an aggregate product innovation function to the model economy.3

I begin my analysis by examining impulse response functions. Along these lines, Barsky and

3This is an important difference from the aforementioned prominent contributions in the endogenous growth

literature; that is, adopting a particular knowledge creation function, Smulders and van de Klundert (1995), Peretto

(1996), and Peretto (1998) analyze how detailed market structure, such as the number and size distribution of firms,

affects the aggregate economy.

4

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Sims (2011) demonstrate that the one-sector model fares relatively well in matching the data; i.e.,

impulse responses of TFP, consumption, output, investment, and hours to a news shock in the

one-sector model are very similar to estimated impulse responses to an identified news shock in

their VAR models. I calibrate the two-sector model so that both a sector-specific productivity

shock in the two-sector model and a news shock in the one-sector model generate nearly identical

dynamic responses of TFP. I find that responses of consumption, output, investment, and hours

are also very similar across models and hence, also to the data, although they are not targeted in

the calibration.

There is, however, one variable over which predictions from the one-sector model and the two-

sector model strongly disagree: the aggregate stock market value. In the one-sector model, it falls

on the impact of a positive news shock, whereas in the two-sector model, it rises on the impact of

a positive sector-specific productivity shock. Such a difference is possible despite similar responses

of consumption, output, investment, and hours because the items composing the aggregate stock

market value are different. Specifically, in the one-sector model, it is measured as capital stock,

whereas in the two-sector model, it is measured as the sum of capital stock and the value of

innovative products, the latter of which responds positively to sector-specific productivity shocks.

The two-sector model’s prediction is empirically supported by Barsky and Sims (2011), who find

that an aggregate stock market index rises on the impact of their identified news shock.4

Next, I investigate the forecast error variance decompositions. Once again, along this dimension,

the one-sector model fares relatively well in replicating the estimates of Barsky and Sims (2011).

In particular, the model’s prediction that news shocks become more important in accounting for

variations of TFP, consumption, and output at longer forecast horizons is in line with the data.

4Other identification approaches also find that a stock market boom is associated with news shock (e.g., Beaudry

and Portier (2006)).

5

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However, there are three important discrepancies between the model’s predictions and the data.

First, the one-sector model overemphasizes news shocks’ contributions to the forecast error variance

of consumption at high frequencies. Second, the one-sector model overemphasizes news shocks’

contributions to the forecast error variance of hours at medium frequencies. Third, the one-sector

model underestimates news shocks’ contributions to the forecast error variance of the aggregate

stock market value at high frequencies.

Interestingly, these problems largely disappear in the two-sector model. First, because product

development is an investment, the resource constraint does not allow consumption to increase

after a sector-specific productivity shock to the degree that it does after a news shock in the one-

sector model. Second, because TFP improvement is achieved by high product entry rates but new

products are monopolistically produced, producers of new products do not hire as many hours after

a sector-specific productivity shock as competitive firms do after a news shock in the one-sector

model. Third, sector-specific productivity shock accounts for a large share of the forecast error

variance of the value of the aggregate stock market at high frequencies because it is associated with

a stock market boom.

I also calculate unconditional second moments of important aggregate variables at various fre-

quencies. Along this dimension, both the one-sector model and the two-sector model are equally

well matched to the data. As Barsky and Sims (2011) emphasize, the one-sector model improves

the simplest real business cycle model that is driven solely by surprise technology shocks in the

sense that correlations between variables are all nearly one in the one-shock model; conversely, if

the model is augmented with news shocks, the correlations are all positive but not too close to one,

which are more in line with the data. The same advantage is shared by the two-sector model. In

addition, both the one-sector model and the two-sector model are broadly consistent with general

6

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patterns of what Comin and Gertler (2006) call medium-term business cycles, cyclical components

of up to 200 quarters. This is because both news shocks in the one-sector model and sector-specific

productivity shocks in the two-sector model add persistence to their respective models.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the model economies,

with the one-sector model presented first. The same model is adopted by Barsky and Sims (2011) for

demonstrating that this simple model performs relatively well in matching their empirical findings.

The model is extended to the two-sector model by enriching the supply side. I also substitute news

shock with sector-specific productivity shock. Section 3 reports the main results. Section 4 presents

a sensitivity analysis. I demonstrate that both product cycles and knowledge spillover are important

amplification mechanisms. Specifically, I show that if either of them is excluded, a sector-specific

productivity shock no longer generates an immediate stock market boom but, instead, generates a

crash in the stock market. Section 5 concludes the paper.

2 Model economies

2.1 One-sector model

The one-sector model consists of the representative household, the representative firm, and the

government. The household maximizes the expected lifetime utility value, defined as:

0

" ∞X=0

Ãlog ( − −1)−

1+1

1 + 1

!#

subject to the flow budget constraint and the capital accumulation rule,

+ = (1− ) ( +)

7

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+1 =¡1−

¢ +

Variable definitions are standard. The income tax is set by the government. Preference shock

follows a stationary process,

log = log−1 +

The representative firm is competitive, maximizing profits,

− ( +)

by operating production technology,

= ()

1−

The level of TFP is exogenous, and I follow Section 4 of Barsky and Sims (2011) in specifying its

dynamic property; that is, TFP is decomposed into two parts:

log = log + log

where and follow stochastic processes given by

log = log−1 +

∆ log = ∆ log−1 + −1

Note the timing of the shocks. On the one hand, the variable is a transitory surprise technology

8

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shock whose innovation has an immediate impact on the level of TFP. On the other hand, the

variable is a permanent news shock whose innovation has no contemporaneous effects on the

level of TFP but diffuses slowly into TFP with a time lag.

The government consumes a share of private output,

=

where is an exogenous, random variable following a stationary process,

log =¡1−

¢log + log −1 +

The government maintains a balanced budget, implying that

=

holds in every period.

I omit derivation of the first order conditions because they are entirely standard. The com-

petitive equilibrium is defined in the standard way, and the market clearing condition is given

by

+ + =

Because capital is the only asset in this economy, the value of the aggregate stock market is

defined as

≡ +1

9

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Table 1. One-sector model summary

Production = ()

1−

TFP =

Consumption 1−−1 − +

−+1−

´i= 0

Hours (1− )(1−)

=

1

Eular equation =

h+1

³(1− +1)

+1+1

+ 1− ´i

Capital accumulation +1 =¡1−

¢ +

Resource constraint (1− ) = + Stock market value = +1

The model is summarized in Table 1. The eight equations in the table jointly determine the

equilibrium dynamics of the eight variables , , , , , , , and .

2.2 Two-sector model

The one-sector model is extended to the two-sector model by enriching the supply side. Final good

is produced by a representative competitive final good aggregator with a CES technology:

=

∙Z∈Ω

()−1

¸ −1

(1)

where Ω denotes the set of differentiated products available for production in period . The cost

minimization problem leads to a downward sloping demand curve

() =

µ ()

¶−

for each available product, where () denotes the nominal price of () and denotes the

aggregate price index given by

=

∙Z∈Ω

()1−

¸ 11−

10

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Each intermediate good is produced by an atomistic producer or producers depending on the

good’s location in life cycle. Specifically, I assume that a product is monopolistically produced

initially but is later competitively produced. Futagami and Iwaisako (2007) introduce such a

product cycle to analyze optimal patent duration, but because I take a broad view that the source of

monopoly incorporates not only the formal patent system but also informal protections surrounding

trade secrets and brand image, I call products in the first stage of the product cycle “innovative

products” and products in the second stage of the product cycle “maturing products.”

The production function of an intermediate product is given by

() = () ()

1−

Cobb-Douglas technology implies that the real marginal cost of producing an intermediate product

is given by

=1

µ

¶µ

1−

¶1−

The producer of an innovative product chooses nominal price to maximize the profits defined as

≡ max

µ−

¶µ

¶−

She obtains the optimal markup pricing,

=

− 1 (2)

A producer of a maturing product sets the nominal price at the nominal marginal cost because

11

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competition drives profits to zero:

=

Let denote the mass of innovative products and

denote the mass of maturing products

in period . Their transition rules are given by

+1 =

¡1−

¢(1− )

¡ +

¢(3)

+1 =

¡1−

¢ ¡ +

¡ +

¢¢where

denotes the mass of newly invented products in period . The underlying assumptions

are the following: (i) products are innovative when they are invented, (ii) a fraction of randomly

chosen innovative products evolve into maturing products in every period, and (iii) as in Bilbiie,

Ghironi, and Melitz (2012), there is both a time-to-build lag and a death shock; i.e., products

invented in period start producing in period + 1, and a fraction of both randomly chosen

innovative and randomly chosen maturing products become permanently unavailable to the econ-

omy. Let denote the mass of total products, i.e., the measure of Ω. Because = +

,

its transition rule is given by

+1 =¡1−

¢ ¡ +

¢Note that = 0 corresponds to an important special case in which products are uniformly innova-

tive, i.e., = . This case is revisited in Section 4.

The household maximizes the expected lifetime utility value, defined as

0

" ∞X=0

Ãlog ( − −1)−

1+1

1 + 1

!#

12

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The flow budget constraint is given by

+ + = (1− )¡ + +

¢(4)

The variable denotes investment in physical capital, whose accumulation rule is given by

+1 =¡1−

¢ +

The variable denotes R&D spending for product developments. New products are created with

the technology given by

=

¡

¢1−

where is the sector-specific productivity shock, following a stationary process,

log = log−1 +

This product innovation function is simple and flexible, accommodating two interesting cases. When

= 1, product entries increase in a linear fashion with R&D spending as in Bilbiie, Ghironi, and

Melitz (2012).5 This special case is revisited in Section 4. When 0 1, the product innovation

function exhibits diminishing returns to scale in R&D spending, but at the same time, marginal

product innovation efficiency of R&D spending improves with the stock of innovative products.

I interpret the latter effect as knowledge spillover because a larger stock of innovative products

facilitates product developments.

5 In fact, the working paper version of their work (Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2007)) is closer because both labor

and capital involve the product development costs. In the published version (Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2012)),

only labor is involved.

13

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The first-order conditions are given by

1

− −1− +

µ −+1 −

¶¸= 0

(1− ) = 1

=

£+1

¡(1− +1)+1 + 1−

¢¤− +

¡1−

¢(1− )

= 0

− +

"

Ã+1 (1− +1) +1 + +1

¡1−

¢(1− )

Ã1 + (1− )

+1

+1

!!#= 0 (5)

where and are Lagrangian multipliers for (3) and (4), respectively.

The government behaves in the same way as in the one-sector model; that is, it consumes a

fraction of private output = and maintains a balanced budget, implying that = holds

every period.

2.3 Equilibrium

Competitive equilibrium is defined as a sequence of quantities and prices such that (i) they are

optimally chosen by the household, the aggregator, and intermediate goods producers and (ii) the

goods, labor, and capital market clear in every period:

= + + + (6)

=

+

14

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=

+

where and denote labor input and capital input to an innovative product, respectively, and

and denote labor input and capital input to a maturing product, respectively.

We can simplify the aggregate production function (1) using equilibrium conditions. Because

products are symmetric in each group, the aggregate production is written as

=

¡¢ −1

+

¡¢ −1

¸ −1

(7)

where denotes the production of an innovative product and denotes the production of a

maturing product. Because the demand for an innovative product is lower than the demand for a

maturing product to the extent of the price differential, we find

=

µ

¶−=

µ

− 1¶−

(8)

Combining (7) and (8), we find

=

" +

µ

− 1¶−1#

−1

(9)

Applying the same argument to the factor market clearing conditions, we find

=

+

=

" +

µ

− 1¶# (10)

=

+

=

" +

µ

− 1¶# (11)

15

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Substituting (10) and (11) into (9), we find

= ()

1−

where TFP is given by

= 1

−1

"

+

µ

− 1¶−1#

−1"

+

µ

− 1¶#−1

These are key equations. Note that exogenous news shock in the one-sector model, , is replaced

by an endogenous mechanism. Specifically, the level of TFP is affected by the number of products,

, and the composition of products, . This is the main idea behind the proposition that

sector-specific productivity shock in the two-sector model can be thought of as news shock. Because

there is a time-to-build lag in product development, a sector-specific productivity shock does not

have a contemporaneous effect on the level of TFP; rather, as it sluggishly affects the number

and composition of products with a time lag, a sector-specific productivity shock slowly diffuses

into TFP similarly to how a news shock does in the one-sector model. I will show that dynamic

responses of TFP to these shocks are not only qualitatively but also quantitatively similar under

reasonable calibration.6

The equilibrium conditions lead to the accounting identity. The goods market clearing condition

(6) summarizes the usage of the aggregate production in the economy,

= + +

6Long-run implications are different because a news shock in the one-sector model has a permanent effect on TFP,

while a sector-specific productivity shock in the two-sector model does not. However, they generate similar dynamic

responses of TFP at high, medium, and low frequencies, at least up to 200 quarters. Therefore, the difference in the

permanent future is not an especially serious concern for the current study as long as the focus is on fluctuations.

16

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Aggregate production is the sum of consumption, investment, and government spending, where

investment is defined as the sum of investment in physical capital and product developments:7

= +

Combining the household budget constraint and the goods market clearing condition yields the

income account,

= + + (12)

Aggregate production is equal to the sum of the income generated by production. It is interesting to

observe that, unlike in standard neoclassical growth models, in the current model economy, income

shares are not constant but fluctuate with an endogenous mechanism. A few steps of derivations

verify this claim. First, by substituting factor market clearing conditions (10) and (11) into the

total costs of production, we find

+ =¡

+

¢ " +

µ

− 1¶#

Because the markup pricing (2) implies that equilibrium costs and profits of producing an innovative

product have a stable relation as +

= ( − 1) , we find

+ = ( − 1) " +

µ

− 1¶#

7 I include product development costs to investment, following Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2012). McGrattan and

Prescott (2010) do not include intangible investment in the measured investment but treat it as business spending

instead.

17

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Substituting this equation into the income account (12), we find

=

"

+

µ

− 1¶−1#−1

The remainder of the income is divided by capital and labor with constant shares:

= (1− )£ −

¤

= £ −

¤Therefore, factor shares are affected by the composition of products. Specifically, the dividend

share increases with the share of innovative products in total products, and both capital and labor

shares decrease with the share of innovative products in total products. Changes in this intensive

margin turn out to be a very powerful amplification mechanism, which is most clearly observed in

Section 4, in which the special case of homogenous products is revisited. However, the number of

products is neutral to factor shares given that the composition of products is equal. This is because

a change in this extensive margin has proportional effects on both the aggregate production and

the individual components of income.

The value of the aggregate stock market is defined as the sum of capital stock and the

value of innovative products,

≡ +1 + ¡ +

¢where is defined as ≡

¡1−

¢(1− ) . Its economic interpretation becomes clearer

18

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once we rewrite the household’s first order condition (5) as

=

"+1

¡1−

¢(1− )

Ã(1− +1) +1 + +1 (1− )

+1

+1

+ +1

!#(13)

This is the pricing equation for the end-of-the-period value of an innovative product, reflecting the

product’s dual role. On the one hand, an innovative product is a monopolistic product generating

a sequence of profits. Let denote the asset value of an innovative product focusing on this aspect,

which is given by

=

∙+1

¡1−

¢(1− ) ((1− +1) +1 + +1)

¸(14)

On the other hand, an innovative product is a useful input in the R&D sector. Let denote the

asset value of an innovative product focusing on this aspect, which is given by

=

"+1

¡1−

¢(1− )

Ã(+1 + +1) (1− )

+1

+1

+ +1

!#(15)

It is clear that = + because adding (14) and (15) leads to (13).

The model is summarized in Table 2. The sixteen equations in the table jointly determine the

equilibrium dynamics of sixteen endogenous variables, , , , , , , , , ,

,

,

, , , , and .

2.4 Calibration

Calibration is summarized in Table 3. The parameters are divided into three groups. The first group

lists parameters that are common to both the one- and two-sector models. For those parameters,

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Table 2. Two-sector model summary

Production = ()

1−

TFP = 1

−1

+³1−

´³

−1´−1¸

−1∙

+³1−

´³

−1´¸−1

Consumption 1−−1 − +

−+1−

´i= 0

Hours (1− )(1−)(−

)

= 1

Eular equation =

∙+1

µ(1− +1)

(+1−+1+1)

+1+ 1−

¶¸Capital accumulation +1 =

¡1−

¢ +

R&D spending = ( + )

Monopoly value =

£+1

¡1−

¢(1− ) ((1− +1) +1 + +1)

¤R&D value =

h+1

¡1−

¢(1− )

³(+1 + +1) (1− )

+1

+1

+ +1

´iDividend

=

+³1−

´³

−1´−1¸−1

Product innovation =

¡

¢1−()

Innovative products +1 =

¡1−

¢(1− )

¡ +

¢Total products +1 =

¡1−

¢ ¡ +

¢Resource constraint (1− ) = + +

Investment = +

Stock market value = +1 + ( + )¡ +

¢I follow Barsky and Sims (2011) and set them at = 099, = 08, = 1, = 0025, = 033,

= 02, = 095, = 08, and the standard deviations of and at 0.15 percent.

The parameters in the second group are unique to the two-sector model. There are four such

parameters. I set the size of the death shock at = 0025 and the elasticity of substitution

between products at = 38, following Bilbiie, Ghironi, and Melitz (2012). I set the transition

probability of an innovative product becoming a maturing product at = 180 so that the average

duration of a product being innovative matches the actual patent length. The research elasticity

is calibrated to match a salient feature of the data; that is, the ratio of R&D spending to corporate

profits is roughly constant, as shown in Figure 3.8 The model counterpart is derived as follows:

8Total domestic R&D and corporate profits with inventory valuation adjustment and capital consumption adjust-

ment are taken from the BEA.

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from the optimality condition equating marginal costs and benefits of R&D spending, we find that

=

+

³ +

´(16)

holds in the steady state, where and are the steady state values of ¡ +

¢and

¡ +

¢, respectively. This equation shows that steady state R&D spending is a fraction

of the steady state value of new products. At a given level of new products’ steady state value, an

increase in leads to a larger steady state R&D spending because it slows the diminishing returns

to scale. The steady state value of new products is replaced with steady state R&D spending

and steady state dividend income in the following way. I first rewrite the pricing equation of ,

obtaining

=

µ(1− ) +

+

¶(17)

This equation shows that the steady state value of innovative products as monopolistic products

is the discounted sum of steady state after-tax future dividend income. I also rewrite the pricing

equation of , obtaining

=

µ

+

³ +

´− +

+

¶(18)

This equation shows that the steady state value of innovative products in the R&D sector is the

discounted sum of steady state future R&D profits, defined as the steady state value of new products

minus steady state R&D spending. I use (18) to replace in (16) with and and then use (17)

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Figure 1: The ratio of R&D spending to corporate profits from 1959 to 2007. Dotted line shows

the hostorical average.

to replace with , obtaining

=

∙1− 1−

1− (1− ( +))

¸(1− )

This is an increasing function of . It takes the minimum value of zero when = 0, and takes

the maximum value of = 0629 when = 1, given our calibration of , , , and . Our

target value is 0313 (the historical average, plotted by the dotted line in Figure 3). Hence, I set

at = 0175.

The parameters in the third group are those governing technology shocks. For the one-sector

model, they are parameters determining stochastic processes of surprise technology shock and

news shock . These are calibrated to match the dynamic properties of TFP reported by Barsky

and Sims (2011). Specifically, I set = 098 and the standard deviation of at 0.75 percent

so that the model-implied impulse response of TFP to a surprise technology shock matches the

empirically observed impulse response of TFP to its own innovation.9 I set = 0822 and the

standard deviation of at 0.098 so that the model-implied share of the forecast error variance of

TFP attributable to news shock at various forecast horizons matches its empirical counterpart.

9See page 287 of Barsky and Sims (2011).

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For the two-sector model, the parameters determine the stochastic processes of neutral produc-

tivity shock and sector-specific productivity shock . These are calibrated so that the impulse

responses of TFP are similar across models. Specifically, I set = 0978 and the standard de-

viation of at 075 percent so that a neutral productivity shock in the two-sector model and

a surprise technology shock in the one-sector model generate similar dynamic responses of TFP.

The standard deviations are set at the same value so that the initial responses to a one standard-

deviation innovation to each shock are identical. The persistence is slightly lower in the two-sector

model because product entries add extra persistence in the two-sector model. Similarly, I set the

persistence of the sector-specific productivity shock at = 0806 and the standard deviation of

at 910 percent so that a sector-specific productivity shock in the two-sector model and a news

shock in the one-sector model generate similar dynamic responses of TFP. A small value of

indicates that the model contains a strong, endogenous amplification mechanism.

3 Results

In Figure 2, I plot impulse responses to a neutral productivity shock in the two-sector model

(solid line) and impulse responses to a surprise technology shock in the one-sector model (dotted

line). The top-left panel shows that the TFP responses are nearly identical in both models, which

confirms the calibration strategy. Responses of consumption, output, hours, and investment are

also very similar across models. However, a large difference is observed in responses of the value of

the aggregate stock market: while both models predict a positive response, the size of the initial

jump is several times larger in the two-sector model than in the one-sector model.

To understand the difference, in Figure 3, I plot impulse response functions of an expanded

23

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Table 3. Calibration

Common parameters one-sector two-sector

Time discount factor 0.99 0.99

Degree of habit 0.8 0.8

Elasticity of leisure 1 1

Capital depreciation rate 0.025 0.025

Capital elasticity 0.33 0.33

Average government spending share 0.2 0.2

Standard deviation of 0.0015 0.0015

Persistence of log 0.95 0.95

Standard deviation of 0.0015 0.0015

Persistence of log 0.8 0.8

Parameters unique to the two-sector model two-sector

Death shock 0.025

Elasticity of substitution between products 3.8

Maturation rate 1/80

Research elasticity 0.175

Parameters calibrated to match TFP response one-sector two-sector

Standard deviation of 0.0075 0.0075

Persistence of log 0.980 0.978

Standard deviation of 0.0098

Persistence of ∆ log 0.822

Standard deviation of 0.0910

Persistence of log 0.806

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Figure 2: Impulse responses to a neutral productivity shock () in the two-sector model (solid

line) and a surprise technology shock () in the one-sector model (dotted line). Log deviations

from the steady state are plotted.

25

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list of variables in the two-sector model. We observe that investment in physical capital responds

very similarly across models, as does capital stock. This observation leads us to conclude that a

large impact response of the aggregate stock market value in the two-sector model is caused by

the other component of the total asset value, i.e., the asset value of innovative products; responses

are plotted in the second row. The value of innovative products as monopolistic products, ≡

¡ +

¢, increases because improved productivity leads to larger dividend income,

, as

observed in the right panel of the same row. The value of innovative products in the R&D sector,

≡ ¡ +

¢, also increases because the expectation of large future profits stimulates R&D,

which in turn makes innovative products in the R&D sector more valuable given that they are a

complementary input with R&D spending. The third row plots product dynamics. A period of

high product entry rates follows a neutral productivity shock, which increases both the number of

products and the share of innovative products in the total products.

Figure 4 shows the results of our main interests: it compares impulse responses to a news

shock in the one-sector model (dotted line) with impulse responses to a sector-specific productivity

shock in the two-sector model (solid line). The TFP responses are nearly identical in both models.

A sector-specific productivity shock looks similar to a news shock in this sense. Consumption,

output, hours, and investment also respond similarly across models. Specifically, consumption

increases whereas output, hours, and investment decrease on impact; these findings are consistent

with Barsky and Sims (2011). However, responses of the aggregate stock market value are very

different. In the one-sector model, it falls on the impact of a news shock, whereas in the two-sector

model, it rises on the impact of a sector-specific productivity shock. The prediction from the two-

sector model is empirically supported; that is, Barsky and Sims (2011) find that an aggregate stock

market index rises on impact of their identified news shock.

26

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Figure 3: Impulse responses to a neutral productivity shock () in the two-sector model. Log

deviations from the steady state are plotted.

27

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Figure 4: Impulse responses to a sector-specific productivity shock () in the two-sector model

(solid line), and impulse responses to a news shock () in the one-sector model (dotted line).

Log deviations from the steady state are plotted.

28

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To understand the difference, Figure 5 presents impulse response functions of an expanded list

of variables in the two-sector model. We observe that investment in physical capital decreases but

R&D spending increases significantly after a sector-specific productivity shock. A large volume

of R&D spending raises the value of innovative products in the R&D sector. The other half of

innovative products’ value, i.e., innovative products’ value as monopolistic products, decreases on

the impact of a sector-specific productivity shock because product entries will dilute per product

monopoly profits. Because capital stock also decreases, we conclude that the value of the aggre-

gate stock market rises on the impact of a sector-specific productivity shock because the value of

innovative products in the R&D sector rises.

Figure 6 shows forecast error variance decomposition. Five panels report the forecast error

variance decomposition of five important variables, i.e., TFP, consumption, output, hours, and

aggregate stock market value. There are three lines and a confidence band in each panel. One line

is data, taken from Barsky and Sims (2011), depicting the fraction of the forecast error variance

attributable to an identified news shock in their VAR model. One standard error confidence band is

also taken from Barsky and Sims (2011). The two remaining lines show theoretical predictions from

each of the two models, i.e., the fraction of the forecast error variance attributable to news shock in

the one-sector model and the fraction of the forecast error variance attributable to sector-specific

productivity shock in the two-sector model. The three lines are almost perfectly overlapped in the

top-left panel, which reports the forecast error variance decomposition of TFP. This overlap in the

three lines is due to the calibration.

Barsky and Sims’s estimates of the contribution of identified news shock vary not only across

variables but also across forecast horizons. At short horizons, identified news shocks account for

a very small share of the forecast error variances of consumption and output, a large share of the

29

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Figure 5: Impulse responses to a sector-specific productivity shock () in the two-sector model.

Log deviations from the steady state are plotted.

30

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forecast error variances of hours, and a modest share of the forecast error variances of aggregate

stock market value. At longer horizons, the identified news shock contributes more significantly

to the variance decomposition of aggregate variables with the exception of hours, in which the

contributions of news shocks are quickly weakened, resulting in an L-shaped plot.

The one-sector model successfully replicates the general pattern of the data. In particular,

the model’s prediction that news shocks become more important in accounting for variations of

TFP, consumption, and output at longer forecast horizons is in line with the data. However, a

closer examination reveals three important discrepancies between the model’s predictions and the

data. First, the one-sector model overemphasizes news shocks’ contributions to the forecast error

variance of consumption at a very short horizon. Second, the one-sector model predicts that news

shocks make a significant contribution to the variance decomposition of hours at both short and

long horizons, resulting in a V-shaped plot. Third, the one-sector model predicts that news shocks

account for a negligible share of the forecast error variances of the aggregate stock market value at

short horizons, with nearly zero contribution two years after a shock.

Interestingly, all three problems largely disappear in the two-sector model. First, sector-specific

productivity shocks account for a smaller share of the forecast error variance of consumption at

short horizons. This is because, as product development is investment, the resource constraint

does not allow consumption to increase after a sector-specific productivity shock as much as it

does after a news shock in the one-sector model. Second, sector-specific productivity shocks make

weaker contributions to the forecast error variance of hours at medium frequencies. The product

cycle plays an important role, meaning that because TFP improvement is achieved by high product

entry rates but new products are monopolistically produced, producers of new products do not hire

as many hours as competitive firms in the one-sector model do after a news shock. Third, sector-

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specific productivity shocks account for a large share of the forecast error variance of the aggregate

stock market value. This is because a sector-specific productivity shock generates a large, positive

impact response of the aggregate stock market value consistent with the data.

Finally, I report unconditional second moments of selected macroeconomic variables at various

frequencies.10 The sample period of the data is from the first quarter of 1948 to the second quarter

of 2008. One thousand artificial data sets of the same sample size are generated from each of the two

models, and the median, 5th, and 95th percentiles of the moments across simulations are calculated.

Table 4 shows that both the one- and two-sector models are able to replicate general patterns of

the U.S. business cycle, i.e., cyclical components from 2 quarters to 32 quarters, extracted using the

Band-Pass filter of Christiano and Fitzgerald (2003). Empirical moments of the key macroeconomic

variables, i.e., output, consumption, investment, and hours, are particularly closely matched. As

Barsky and Sims (2011) emphasize, the one-sector model improves the simplest real business cycle

model that is driven solely by surprise technology shocks in the sense that correlations between

variables are all close to one in the one-shock model; however, if they are augmented with news

shocks, the correlations are all positive but not too close to one, which are the findings that are

more in line with the data. The same advantage is shared by the two-sector model. Empirical

moments of TFP and labor productivity are also well replicated by both the one-sector model

and the two-sector model. Volatility of the aggregate stock market value in the two-sector model

10Nominal variables are divided using the nonfarm business sector implicit price deflator, taken from the BEA.

Output is measured as production in the nonfarm business sector, taken from the BEA. Consumption is measured as

personal consumption expenditures on service and nondurable goods, taken from the BEA. Investment is measured as

personal consumption expenditures on durable goods and fixed private investment, taken from the BEA. Equity value

is measured as S&P 500 stock price index. These series are divided by the civilian, non-institutional population that

is over 16 years old, taken from the BLS. Labor productivity is measured as real nonfarm business output divided

by the hours worked by all persons in the sector. TFP is calculated by the author using real nonfarm business

output, the capacity utilization rate, the hours worked by all persons in the sector, and capital service. The capacity

utilization rate is that of the manufacturing sector, taken from the Board of Governors. Capital service is taken from

the BLS, annual observations of which I interpolate assuming constant growth over a year. Labor elasticity is set at

the average labor share over the sample period.

32

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Figure 6: Forecast error variance decompositions. The horizontal axis measures the forecast

horizon. Estimates of Barsky and Sims (2011) are referred to as Data, which are the fraction of the

forecast error variance of each variable at various forecast horizons (1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 40 quarters)

attributable to identified news shock in their VAR model. One standard error confidence band is

taken from Barsky and Sims (2011). The other two lines show the fraction of the forecast error

variance attributable to news shock in the one-sector model and the fraction of the forecast error

variance attributable to sector-specific productivity shock in the two-sector model, respectively.

33

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Table 4. Second moments, Business-cycle frequency (2-32)

Standard deviation Correlation with output Autocorrelation

one- two- one- two- one- two-

Variable Data sector sector Data sector sector Data sector sector

2.22 120(100 145)

114(096 138)

1.00 100(100 100)

100(100 100)

0.84 072(062 080)

071(061 079)

1.09 039(029 051)

038(029 050)

0.81 060(046 072)

061(051 069)

0.84 092(089 095)

093(089 095)

4.89 449(384 526)

393(337 463)

0.86 097(096 098)

097(096 098)

0.85 067(057 075)

067(056 075)

1.82 042(036 049)

032(028 037)

0.89 083(076 089)

085(077 090)

0.89 066(056 074)

066(056 075)

1.24 098(082 118)

098(082 118)

0.84 098(098 099)

099(098 099)

0.74 071(061 079)

071(061 079)

1.05 089(074 107)

089(074 108)

0.57 097(095 098)

098(097 099)

0.68 073(063 080)

072(062 080)

10.21 032(023 042)

046(038 056)

0.52 040(032 046)

084(078 089)

0.82 093(091 095)

077(068 084)

is higher than that in the one-sector model, although both are much lower than their empirical

counterpart. In the one-sector model, the aggregate stock market value is not strongly correlated

with output because it is insensitive to a surprise technology shock.

Table 5 shows that both the one- and two-sector models are also able to replicate U.S. economic

fluctuations at a low frequency, from which I extract cyclical components from 33 to 200 quarters

by the Band-Pass filter before calculating the same set of second moments. Given the good fit

with the data at both the business-cycle and medium frequencies, it is not surprising that both the

one- and two-sector models are able to replicate what Comin and Gertler (2006) call medium-term

business cycles, cyclical components from 2 to 200 quarters, as reported in Table 6. Both news

shock in the one-sector model and sector-specific productivity shock in the two-sector model add

persistence to their respective models. I conclude that in terms of accounting for unconditional

second moments, both the one-sector model and the two-sector model perform equally well.

34

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Table 5. Second moments, Medium frequency (33-200)

Standard deviation Correlation with output Autocorrelation

one- two- one- two- one- two-

Variable Data sector sector Data sector sector Data sector sector

4.05 293(184 446)

274(171 420)

1.00 100(100 100)

100(100 100)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

2.87 217(126 343)

208(122 333)

0.91 090(083 094)

090(083 094)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

7.76 686(450 987)

588(388 856)

0.83 090(083 094)

089(084 093)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

3.76 055(035 075)

043(028 060)

0.78 077(057 090)

069(040 088)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

2.42 214(138 321)

211(132 318)

0.65 098(097 099)

096(092 099)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

2.72 252(156 395)

248(149 381)

0.67 099(098 099)

099(098 099)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

29.28 240(137 390)

220(129 355)

0.75 074(059 084)

090(083 094)

0.99 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

Table 6. Second moments, Medium-term cycle (2-200)

Standard deviation Correlation with output Autocorrelation

one- two- one- two- one- two-

Variable Data sector sector Data sector sector Data sector sector

4.64 319(221 463)

299(207 437)

1.00 100(100 100)

100(100 100)

0.96 096(091 098)

095(091 098)

3.10 221(133 345)

213(130 335)

0.88 086(076 091)

085(077 091)

0.98 099(099 099)

099(099 099)

9.25 834(636 1098)

717(554 945)

0.83 090(085 093)

090(085 093)

0.95 090(083 094)

090(082 094)

4.21 069(055 089)

054(042 069)

0.80 076(061 086)

071(051 085)

0.98 088(080 092)

088(080 092)

2.71 239(171 338)

236(166 335)

0.68 098(097 099)

097(093 098)

0.94 095(090 097)

095(090 097)

2.91 269(181 405)

264(176 391)

0.64 099(098 099)

099(098 099)

0.96 097(093 098)

097(092 098)

31.25 243(141 391)

226(139 358)

0.71 069(054 080)

088(081 092)

0.98 099(099 099)

099(097 099)

35

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4 Sensitivity

4.1 Role of heterogeneous products

This section closely examines the role of heterogeneous products. Heterogeneity is the result of

the product cycle, and hence, one way to determine its significance is by experimenting with a

parameter configuration that shuts the product cycle down, i.e., setting at = 0. Products

are uniformly innovative under this calibration. I keep the other parameters set at the same

values except for those governing technology shocks, which are re-calibrated so that the impulse

response functions of TFP under the alternative calibration resemble those under the benchmark

calibration. Figure 7 presents impulse response functions to a sector-specific productivity shock.

With the exception of TFP, many variables respond differently relative to their responses under

the benchmark calibration, when the parameter is set at zero. This result shows that, in spite of

its simplicity, the product cycle serves as a powerful amplification mechanism.

The difference in the response of the aggregate stock market value is striking. While it rises on

the impact of a sector-specific productivity shock under the benchmark calibration, it falls under

the alternative calibration. The key to understanding the difference is to understand the changes

in the composition of products. Remember that the dividend income share is given by

=1

"

+

µ

− 1¶−1#−1

which increases with the share of innovative products in total products. Under the benchmark

calibration, a sector-specific productivity shock has a strong effect on dividend income because

new products are innovative, and therefore, both the share of innovative products and the share

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of dividend income increase after the shock. Although high product entry rates dilute per product

monopoly profits, the above-mentioned mechanism prevents a catastrophic crash in the value of

innovative products as monopolistic products. Under the alternative calibration, however, this

amplification mechanism is inactive because products are uniformly innovative, and hence, =

1 always holds. The dividend income share is therefore

=1

for every period. Factor shares are completely rigid. Fluctuations in dividend income are greatly

limited, and hence, a sector-specific productivity shock leads to a larger decrease in the value of

innovative products as monopolistic products.

The value of innovative products in the R&D sector rises under the alternative calibration,

but the size of the response is approximately half the size of the response under the benchmark

calibration. Because both R&D spending and product entry rates respond similarly under the two

calibrations, this difference between responses of the value of innovative products in the R&D sector

can be puzzling at first. In fact, it is simply a reflection of a difference in the steady states: the

steady state value of innovative products is much larger under the alternative calibration than under

the benchmark calibration because all products are innovative under the alternative calibration,

whereas only approximately two thirds of products are innovative under the benchmark calibration.

With this difference, similar product entry rates lead to different percentage deviations from the

steady state values.

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Figure 7: Impulse responses to a sector-specific productivity shock () under the alternative

calibration with = 0 (solid line) and under the benchmark calibration (dotted line). Log

deviations from the steady state are plotted.

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4.2 Role of knowledge spillover

This section closely examines the role of knowledge spillover. For this purpose, I experiment on an

alternative parameter configuration with = 1. Under this calibration, product entries increase in

a linear fashion with R&D spending. No diminishing returns to scale set in and the efficiency of

product innovation is unaffected by the stock of innovative products. The other parameters are set

at the same values with the exception of those governing technology shocks, which are re-calibrated

so that the impulse response functions of TFP resemble those under the benchmark calibration.

Figure 8 presents impulse response functions to a sector-specific productivity shock. Responses

of TFP are unable to be perfectly matched because the alternative calibration removes persis-

tence. The lack of persistence indicates the importance of knowledge spillover as an amplification

mechanism.

Once again, the responses of the aggregate stock market value are strikingly different. Although

aggregate stock market value rises on the impact of a sector-specific productivity shock under the

benchmark calibration, under the alternative calibration, it falls. The cause is easily understood.

Under the benchmark calibration, the aggregate stock market value is decomposed into three parts:

capital stock, the value of innovative products as monopolistic products, and the value of innovative

products in the R&D sector. Among those three parts, only the last, the value of innovative products

in the R&D sector, responds positively to sector-specific productivity shocks, hence contributing to

capital gain in aggregate stock market value. Under the alternative calibration, however, innovative

products have no use in the R&D sector. Therefore, aggregate stock market value consists of only

two parts: capital stock and the value of innovative products as monopolistic products. Without

capital gain in the value of innovative products in the R&D sector, a sector-specific productivity

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shock leads to a crash in aggregate stock market value.

5 Conclusion

Most of the theoretical work in the news shock literature abstracts away from structural explana-

tions, assuming instead that good news is a pure signal giving agents advance notice that aggregate

technology will undergo exogenous change at some future point. This assumption is convenient for

the purposes of introducing optimism and pessimism into the rational expectation model. However,

such an assumption is arguably unrealistic, and without a structure detailing the cause of future

technological progress, analysis based on this assumption may lead to misguided policy recommen-

dations.

Searching for a structural explanation for news is therefore important, and the current paper

contributes to that search. Specifically, it proposes that a surprise improvement in sector-specific

productivity in the R&D sector can be seen as news about aggregate productivity. Given a large

body of literature that identifies R&D as an important contributor to aggregate productivity im-

provement (Romer (1990); Grossman and Helpman (1991); Aghion and Howitt (1997)), I believe

it is a natural place to look for the structural origin of news about aggregate productivity.

The model economy proposed in this paper performs very well in matching the data. Specifically,

a sector-specific productivity shock generates dynamic responses of TFP that are close to dynamic

responses of TFP to identified news shocks estimated by a prominent empirical study (Barsky and

Sims (2011)). Moreover, the model is able to match important aspects of the data better than a

textbook neoclassical growth model augmented with news shocks. In other words, the model offers

not only a deeper explanation for news but also better explanations for the data than a simple

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Figure 8: Impulse responses to a sector-specific productivity shock () under the alternative cal-

ibration with = 1 (solid line) and under the benchmark calibration (dotted line). Log deviations

from the steady state are plotted.

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model in which news shocks are introduced in a standard way as they are in the literature.

I believe that the proposed mechanism is reasonable and that the model’s ability to match data

is largely satisfactory, but I also recognize that there are other possibilities that can explain news

equally well. For example, Comin, Gertler, and Santacreu (2009) explore an alternative explanation,

proposing an unexpected advancement of the technology frontier as news that slowly diffuses to

the economy through the costly implementation of new ideas. Such competing explanations should

be further explored as the effort will ultimately lead to a better understanding of news, the source

of technological progress, and the source of economic fluctuations.

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