Centre De Recherche Sur L'emploi Et Les Uctuations Economiques Cref E Research Center on Employment and Economic Fluctuations Rceef International Trade over the Business Cycle: Stylized Facts and Remaining Puzzles

Using quarterly national accounts for 19 industrialized economies, the business cycle behavior of trade related aggregates and prices is assessed. Emphasis is put on the distinction between small, relatively open, and large, relatively closed, economies. Comparing those facts with the computational experiments of international real business cycle models, several puzzles are studied or uncovered. Finally, we determine which facts are crucial for international real business cycle models, that is, in which direction current research should pursue.