Demand induced fluctuations

We build a variation of the neoclassical growth model in which households increased desire to save generate recessions. Our economy features three departures from the standard model: (1) goods markets (for nontradables) require active search from households wherein increases in consumption expenditures increase measured productivity; (2) adjustment costs make it difficult to expand the tradable goods sector by reallocating factors of production from nontradables to tradables; (3) labor markets have Nash bargaining wage setting and Mortensen-Pissarides search and matching frictions labor markets. These departures provide a novel quantitative theory to explain recessions like those in southern Europe without relying on technology shocks.