Recently, the collaborative paper titled "TFPR: Dispersion and Cyclicality" by Professor Russell Cooper from the China Center for Economic Research at Liaoning University and researcher Ozgen Ozturk from the Bank of England has been accepted by the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, a top-tier journal in macroeconomics.
This paper marks the 17th publication by faculty members of the Economics Department of Liaoning University in recent years in internationally renowned top-tier journals across various fields of economics. Previous publications include papers in the Review of Economics and Statistics (1 by Yu Miaojie), Journal of Development Economics (1 each by Yu Miaojie, Yin Lijuan, Yang Guohao, and Wang Zhifeng), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (1 by Qiu Huanguang), Journal of International Economics (1 by Ma Xiangjun), Journal of Public Economics (1 by Chen Feng), Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (1 by Gao Ming), Journal of Labor Economics (1 by Yang Zhe), Journal of Economic Theory (1 by He Chao), Journal of Human Resources (1 by Zhou Yu), Journal of Monetary Economics (1 by Wang Xiaowen), Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (1 each by Yang Zhe and Chen Feng), and International Economic Review (1 co-authored by Russell Cooper and Yan Ping). This achievement represents another landmark outcome in the "Double First-Class" initiative, highlighting significant progress in the high-level research output of applied economics under the "Double First-Class" construction at our university.
Paper Introduction
This study examines the determinants of the cyclicality of revenue-based total factor productivity (TFPR). The distribution of TFPR depends on exogenous shocks and the endogenous determination of prices. Using an overlapping generations (OLG) model, this paper investigates the factors shaping the distribution of TFPR. The study primarily focuses on three empirical features: (i) the countercyclicality of TFPR dispersion, (ii) the countercyclicality of price change dispersion, and (iii) the countercyclicality of price adjustment frequency. The model is able to replicate these features if the mean shocks of quantity-based total factor productivity (TFPQ) are negatively correlated with dispersion shocks, or if monetary authorities adopt a "leaning against the wind" approach in response to TFPQ dispersion shocks.
Journal Introduction
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics (AEJ: Macro) was founded in 2009. It is published by the globally renowned American Economic Association (AEA) and is a top-tier journal in the field of macroeconomics.
Author Profile
Professor Russell W. Cooper joined Liaoning University on a full-time basis in 2024. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society. With over 100 publications spanning macroeconomics, industrial organization, international economics, experimental economics, labor economics, and monetary economics, he has authored 19 significant academic papers in top-tier (Top 5) economics journals. His research covers diverse themes including business cycles, labor market dynamics, fiscal policy, finance, and monetary policy. Professor Cooper earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and has held faculty positions at the University of Texas at Austin (where he served as department chair), Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, Boston University, Pennsylvania State University, and the European University Institute.
