TY  - JOUR
AU  - Cooper,Russell
AU  - Johri,Alok
TI  - Learning by Doing and Aggregate Fluctuations
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6898
PY  - 1999
Y2  - January 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6898
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6898.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Russell Cooper
Department of Economics
European University Institute
via della Piazzola, 43
Firenze, 50133
ITALY
E-Mail: russellcoop@gmail.com

Alok Johri
Department of Economics
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, ON CANADA  L8S 4M4
E-Mail: johria@mcmaster.ca
AB  - A major unresolved issue in business cycle theory is the construction of an endogenous propagation mechanism capable of capturing the amount of persistence displayed in the data.  In this paper we explore the quantitative implications of one propagation mechanism: learning by doing.  Estimation of the parameters characterizing learning by doing is based both on aggregate 2-digit data and plant level observations in the US. The estimated learning by doing function is then integrated into a stochastic growth model in which fluctuations are driven by technology shocks.  We conclude that learning by doing can be a powerful mechanism for generating endogenous persistence.
ER  -