<p>Business cycle frequency is a frequency that has the length of one business cycle.  <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/baycollege-introbusiness/chapter/reading-the-business-cycle-definition-and-phases/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Business cycle is</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>economy-wide fluctuations in production, trade, and general economic activity. From a conceptual perspective, the business cycle is the upward and downward movements of levels of GDP (gross domestic product) and refers to the period of expansions and contractions in the level of economic activities (business fluctuations) around a long-term growth trend.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The length of the business cycle varies but usually, it is at least a few years.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-25T14:27:13.053Z
If I get it right, it is usually a few years irrespective of whether one uses quarterly, monthly or annual data?
Emmanuel Ameyaw
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-25T18:48:10.507Z
Yes, the sampling frequency of the data - monthly, quarterly, annual - does not matter. The problem with annual data is that it might be low a frequency, and you might miss recessions. As for the length, one might note that business cycles in the developed countries are longer-lived since the 1990s (recessions a decade apart).
Brian Romanchuk
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-26T09:08:50.437Z
@EmmanuelAmeyaw yes it is several years no matter what data are available
csilvia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T08:26:53.733Z
Many thanks. So to 'analyze data at business cycle frequency' as used in research papers don't actually change anything if it is omitted. Whether data is annual, monthly, or quarterly, you can still say we analyze data at business cycle frequency, right? Anyway, I don't really know what that statement means.
Emmanuel Ameyaw
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T09:13:04.953Z
@EmmanuelAmeyaw analyzing data at business cycle frequency means that no matter what data you have your time unit will be 1 business cycle. For example, even if you use daily data you can analyze the data on quarterly frequency by aggregating daily observations across a quarter. The same goes for business cycle frequency. Frequency is not about what data you have but what is the length of t used in the study
csilvia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-01T19:44:13.027Z
so more like aggregating whatever data frequency you have in each business cycle. For example, If the first cycle took 7 years, then aggregate all data over that 7 years to make one observation for that cycle. If the second cycle took 12 years, then aggregate all data over that 12 years into one observation for that cycle...and so on?
Emmanuel Ameyaw
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-02T14:55:27.250Z
@EmmanuelAmeyaw yes, precisely like that
csilvia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-24T10:00:37.480Z
2021-02-24T10:00:37.480Z
csilvia
<p>Number of peaks in GDP(gross domestic product) per year</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-08T15:24:08.467Z
2021-11-08T15:24:08.467Z
Romald
<p>The consensus is to define the business cycle frequency to be between 1.5 and 8 years (see <strong>Christiano and Fitzgerald (2003)</strong>).</p>
<p>Intuitively, analyzing the data at the business cycle frequency means looking at the variation in the data that happens at the frequency mentioned above.</p>
<p>Practically, this means that you first filter your data (e.g. using a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-pass_filter" rel="nofollow noreferrer">band-pass filter</a>) and then conduct your analysis on the filtered data.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-21T17:35:30.720Z
2023-05-21T17:35:30.720Z
mononom
<p>I am reading a paper by Michal Andrle, Jan Brůha,
Serhat Solmaz (On the sources of business cycles: implications for DSGE models). The authors use data at a quarterly frequency for their empirical analysis. But they also have this statement in their paper, 'Our empirical approach boils down to a multi-country dynamic principal component analysis of data at business cycle frequencies'.</p>
<p>What does the term 'business cycle frequency' mean? And what does it mean to analyze data at business cycle frequency? I have yet found a simple definition for it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-25T14:24:48.883Z
Yeah, sure. I have edited my post. Thanks!!
Emmanuel Ameyaw
<macroeconomics>
What is business cycle frequency?
Emmanuel Ameyaw
# What is business cycle frequency?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-24)

I am reading a paper by Michal Andrle, Jan Brůha,
Serhat Solmaz (On the sources of business cycles: implications for DSGE models). The authors use data at a quarterly frequency for their empirical analysis. But they also have this statement in their paper, 'Our empirical approach boils down to a multi-country dynamic principal component analysis of data at business cycle frequencies'.

What does the term 'business cycle frequency' mean? And what does it mean to analyze data at business cycle frequency? I have yet found a simple definition for it.

**Tags:** macroeconomics

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Yeah, sure. I have edited my post. Thanks!!  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-02-24. Score: 1

Business cycle frequency is a frequency that has the length of one business cycle. [Business cycle is](https://courses.lumenlearning.com/baycollege-introbusiness/chapter/reading-the-business-cycle-definition-and-phases/):

> economy-wide fluctuations in production, trade, and general economic activity. From a conceptual perspective, the business cycle is the upward and downward movements of levels of GDP (gross domestic product) and refers to the period of expansions and contractions in the level of economic activities (business fluctuations) around a long-term growth trend.

The length of the business cycle varies but usually, it is at least a few years.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: If I get it right, it is usually a few years irrespective of whether one uses quarterly, monthly or annual data?  
> **username_2**: Yes, the sampling frequency of the data - monthly, quarterly, annual - does not matter. The problem with annual data is that it might be low a frequency, and you might miss recessions. As for the length, one might note that business cycles in the developed countries are longer-lived since the 1990s (recessions a decade apart).  
> **username_1**: @username_0 yes it is several years no matter what data are available  
> **username_0**: Many thanks. So to 'analyze data at business cycle frequency' as used in research papers don't actually change anything if it is omitted. Whether data is annual, monthly, or quarterly, you can still say we analyze data at business cycle frequency, right? Anyway, I don't really know what that statement means.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 analyzing data at business cycle frequency means that no matter what data you have your time unit will be 1 business cycle. For example, even if you use daily data you can analyze the data on quarterly frequency by aggregating daily observations across a quarter. The same goes for business cycle frequency. Frequency is not about what data you have but what is the length of t used in the study  
> **username_0**: so more like aggregating whatever data frequency you have in each business cycle. For example, If the first cycle took 7 years, then aggregate all data over that 7 years to make one observation for that cycle. If the second cycle took 12 years, then aggregate all data over that 12 years into one observation for that cycle...and so on?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 yes, precisely like that  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2021-11-08. Score: 1

Number of peaks in GDP(gross domestic product) per year


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-05-21. Score: 0

The consensus is to define the business cycle frequency to be between 1.5 and 8 years (see **Christiano and Fitzgerald (2003)**).

Intuitively, analyzing the data at the business cycle frequency means looking at the variation in the data that happens at the frequency mentioned above.

Practically, this means that you first filter your data (e.g. using a [band-pass filter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-pass_filter)) and then conduct your analysis on the filtered data.


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