Empirical Results on the Size Distribution of Business Cycle Phases

Abstract

We study the size distribution of business cycles phases, that is expansions and contractions, for a sample of 16 industrialized countries over 120 years. We find that the best-fitting distribution for both expansions and contractions is Weibull, meaning that business cycles possess a characteristic scale. Furthermore, we discuss how parameters¿ estimates can be used to make inference on the probability a typical episode ends, that is on what economists call turning points.