DATA REVISIONS IN THE ESTIMATION OF DSGE MODELS

Revisions of U.S. macroeconomic data are persistent, correlated with real-time data, and with high variability (around 80% of U.S. real-time data volatility). This paper adapts a DSGE-style model to accommodate both real-time and revised data from the U.S. economy. The results show a lesser role of both habit formation and price indexation than in the standard model. In the simulations, revision shocks to both output and inflation are expansionary because the Fed reacts by cutting interest rates. Consumption revisions, in contrast, are countercyclical, consumption mirrors the observed reduction in real-time consumption. In the variance decomposition, data revisions explain 9.3% of output changes.