The New Econometrics of Structural Change: Dating Breaks in U.S. Labor Productivity

Abstract

We have seen the emergence of three major innovations in the econometrics of structural change in the past fifteen years: (1) tests for a structural break of unknown timing; (2) estimation of the timing of a structural break; and (3) tests to distinguish unit roots from broken time trends. These three innovations have dramatically altered the face of applied time series econometrics. In this paper, we review these three innovations, and illustrate their application through an empirical assessment of U.S. labor productivity in the manufacturing/durables sector.