Introduction
What was the research question asked by Romer in this paper?
What is...is postwar economic stability a product of actual economic stabilization or artificially generated by the type of data used by researchers?
What are some examples of the high-growth materials used in the Frickey indices? Are they still measured today?
What is...yes, wheat, pig iron, lumber, and petroleum
What are cyclical amplitudes and how does Romer use them to compare the indices statistically?
What is...cyclical amplitudes are average drops between peaks and troughs in the business cycle.
What is the difference in cycle length between the pre and post war indices?
What is...they get longer through time (1 year added to cycle length). (FRB Industrial: 5.3, FRB Materials: 4, Frickey Rep: 4.9, Frickey Prewar: 5)
Does this support Romer’s initial hypothesis? How does this compare to previous authors on the subject?
What is...yes and challenges commonly accepted belief on prewar vs postwar volatility, might undermine value of policy?
What was the stylized fact accepted by many economists and refuted within Romer’s paper?
What is...that postwar the economy stabilized and was less volatile than prewar.
Why is the FRB “too good” to be an updated Frickey’s index?
What is...it uses better methodology, more commodities, and takes into consideration qualitatively different materials.
What is the noticeable difference in pre-war to post-war volatility in the Frickey’s indices? How does Romer explain this?
What is...postwar is not extremely less volatile.
Why might materials be more volatile than manufactured goods?
What is...investment in materials is very pro cyclical.
Why might the importance of materials to production be imperative in determining differences in volatility? Were they more important in one era versus another?
What is...if they are more important in different time periods this may cause different levels of volatility without supporting Romer's data methods hypothesis. They are not.
Is the idea of mitigated post-war volatility constrained to production or does it apply to other macroeconomic trends within the literature?
What is...no it has been applied to concepts such as unemployment and GDP.
How does Romer separate the differences between data index calculations and economic changes in the paper?
What is...she recreates the Frickey index using the same methodology, but with modern data.
What is the difference in volatility between the post-war Frickey’s index and the FRB materials index?
What is...the FRB materials index was found to be slightly more volatile than the Frickey's postwar replication.
What mainly contributes to the difference in volatility observed in the Frickey and FRB indices?
What is...reliance on materials and cyclical movements of materials inventories.
Why is the Shaw-Kuznets Series an important piece to Romer’s paper? What does it indicate?
What is...provides an accurate comparison for what a prewar data index should look. Indicates less volatility prewar.
What historical data set did Romer use in this paper? Why?
What is the Frickey Index because it is similar to several other prewar indices, used by many other contemporary researchers, and conveniently ends when the Federal Reserve Board index of industrial production approximately began.
Why does Romer want an updated Frickey’s index?
What is...to find a comparative modern index with data that better represents what is seen in the market, but uses similar commodities.
What does the cyclical amplitude calculations say about Frickey’s index methodology?
What is...Frickey's is seemingly inaccurate in terms of recognizing actual economic volatility.
What is the purpose of Section III of Romer’s paper in consideration of the pieces objective and research question?
What is...gets into the details of why Frickey's index is inherently more volatile.
What are the practical implications of this paper?
How is the Frickey indices different than the FRB and why are these differences important?
What is a smaller number of commodities measured and goods qualitatively different than those used in current FRB indices.
Why is the FRB materials index a good proxy for an updated Frickey’s index?
What is...it takes into account the degree of fabrication in the economy while still using material commodities.
Why does it not matter if the differences in the indices are statistically significant according to Romer?
What is...that even if there is no statistical difference between the indices that in and of itself raises questions about the validity of Frickey's methods.
How would a period of stagnation look under Frickey's method?
What is...it makes them look like periods of recessions.
Is the post-war economic era actually more volatile than the pre-war era?
What is...not necessarily