Macroeconomics, Policy and Econometrics

Research interests

We focus on empirical and methodological research on a wide range of topics related to macroeconomic fluctuations, both at the business cycle frequency and in the long run. Particular interest goes to the design of fiscal, monetary and labor market policy and their interplay with the macroeconomy (economic growth, labor market performance, inflation, population aging dynamics, oil and food commodity markets, ...). Methodologically, we aim to develop and implement econometric techniques for time series analysis, panel data estimation, time-varying parameter models, vector autoregressions (VARs) and to design Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) and Overlapping Generations (OLG) models.

Key publications

• Onder, Y.K., 2022, Liquidity Crises, Liquidity Lines and Sovereign Risk, Journal of Development Economics, Vol 154, 102772
• Peersman, G., 2022. International food commodity prices and missing (dis)inflation in the euro area, Review of economics and statistics, 104(1). p.85-100
• Onder, Y.K. and Sunel, E., 2021, Inflation-default trade-off without a nominal anchor: The case of Greece, Review of Economic Dynamics, 2021, Vol 39, 55-78
• Peersman, G., Rüth, S.K. and Van der Veken, W., 2021. The interplay between oil and food commodity prices: Has it changed over time?, Journal of international economics, 133.
• Onder, Y.K. and Sunel, E., 2020. "The role of risk aversion in a sovereign default model of polarization and political instability," Review of Economic Dynamics, 35, 123-132.
• Bernardini, M., De Schryder, S. and G. Peersman, 2020, Heterogeneous Government Spending Multipliers in the Era Surrounding the Great Recession, Review of Economics and Statistics, 102, 304-322
• De Winne, J. and G. Peersman, 2020, The Impact of Food Prices on Conflict Revisited, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics.
• Devriendt, W. and F. Heylen, 2020, Macroeconomic and distributional effects of demographic change in an open economy – The case of Belgium, Journal of Demographic Economics, 86, 87-124
• Boone, B. and F. Heylen, 2019, “Cross-country Differences in Unemployment: Fiscal Policy, Unions, and Household Preferences in General Equilibrium”, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 121, 1270-1302.
• Bernardini, M. and G. Peersman, 2018, "Private debt overhang and the government spending multiplier: Evidence for the United States", Journal of Applied Econometrics, 33, 485-508.
• De Winne, J. and G. Peersman, 2016, "Macroeconomic effects of disruptions in global food commodity markets: Evidence for the United States", Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 47, 183-286.
• De Schryder S. and G. Peersman, 2015, "The U.S. dollar exchange rate and the demand for oil", Energy Journal, 36, 91-113.
• Smets, F., and R. Wouters, 2007, "Shocks and frictions in US business cycles: A Bayesian DSGE approach", American Economic Review, 97, 586-606.

Workshops

• We organize an Annual International Workshop on Empirical Macroeconomics. The aim of this two-day workshop is to bring together researchers working on topics in Empirical Macroeconomics and discuss their ongoing research. We invite contributions on issues related to Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Business Cycle Analysis or International Macroeconomics.
  
• We are an active partner in the organization of the Annual Belgian Macroeconomics Workshop. 
  

Recent PhD graduates

_{First or current placement (when available) in parenthesis}

• Frederic Opitz, November 2023, Topics in Empirical Macroeconomics
• Pieter Van Rymenant, January 2023, The macroeconomic, distributional and welfare effects of estate taxation (Ghent University)
• Wouter van Der Veken, August 2022, Topics in empirical macroeconomics (National Bank of Belgium)
• Joris Wauters, September 2020, Essays on wage and price inflation (National Bank of Belgium)
• Martin Iseringhausen, November 2019, Unobserved components models in macroeconomics and finance (European Stability Mechanism)
• Stef De Visscher, October 2019, Measuring total factor productivity and understanding its determinants (KBC, Finance & Risk)
• Bruno Albuquerque, June 2019, Household debt, housing cycles, and interactions with monetary policy. (ECB, Germany)
• Willem Devriendt, October 2018, Coping with Demographic Change: Macroeconomic Effects and Optimal Pension Reform. (IDEA Consult)
• Ignace De Vos, October 2018, Panel Data Econometrics - Dynamics and Cross-Section Dependence (Lund University)
• Jasmien De Winne, Februari 2018, The Consequences of Food Price Changes: A Macroeconomic Perspective (Belgian Foreign Affaires Department)
• Marco Bernardini, December 2017, Private Debt and Macroeconomic Stability (Bank of Italy)
• Brecht Boone, June 2017, Labour Market Imperfections, Expectations and Fiscal Policy in Dynamic Macro Models (E.CA Economics) 
• Ewoud Quaghebeur, May 2017, Expectations and the Macroeconomic Dynamics of Fiscal Policy (Ghent University)