Macroeconomics After Two Decades of Rational Expectations

This expository paper describes major developments during the second decade of rational-expectations macroeconomics, roughly 1982-1991. Topics attracting the most attention from researchers differed from those of 1972-1981, with considerable emphasis being devoted to technical mailers. Here the discussion focuses on four prominent areas: real business cycle analysis, growth theory and its empirical application, issues involving unit roots in macroeconomic time series, and sticky-price models of aggregate supply. The paper concludes by arguing that the current state of knowledge in macroeconomics is not as bad as is often suggested.