International Business Cycle Co-Movements through Time: The Anglo-Saxon Experience

Over the past 40 years the business cycles of Anglo-Saxon countries have become more closely synchronized. This paper investigates whether the factors suggested for explaining cycle co-movements across countries can also explain changes through time. We find that most of the cross-sectional explanations – trade, industrial structure and relative market flexibility – can also explain changes through time. However, the size and sign of the impact vary across country pairs. JEL Classifications: E32, F15, F4