Hechos estilizados del ciclo económico de Ecuador: 1990-2009

This paper presents a set of “stylized facts” of the business cycle in Ecuador. To describe the properties of economic fluctuations I followed the Kydland and Prescott methodology (1990). It documents the volatility of the cyclical component of macroeconomic variables and the co-movements with the cyclical component of real GDP. In order to analyze possible changes in the cyclical properties of the Ecuadorian economic cycle, the period of analysis is divided into two sub-periods, 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, this due to the adoption of official dollarization in early 2000. Ecuador real cycles have some interesting peculiarities. Trade is an important part of economic activity; exports and the terms of trade tend to lead the cycle. On the other hand, change and monetary policy play a significant role in short-term fluctuations.