Impulse Response Function
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The impulse response function describes the path a system follows after receiving a one-unit shock, recording the immediate reaction, the timing of the peak, and the rate of decay back toward equilibrium. The core proposition is that static equilibrium analysis shows where a system settles but not how it gets there, while the response path reveals adjustment speed, persistence, and stability. The key qualification is that the estimated response is only as credible as the identification of the shock, since a correlated but non-causal disturbance produces a misleading path.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
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- Dynamic path reading: Look at the whole response curve instead of only the final equilibrium level. - Peak and decay: Note when the effect is largest and how many periods it takes to fade. - Shock identification: Make sure the disturbance is genuinely causal before interpreting the response.
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A shock enters the system and propagates through its internal transmission channels, so the observed variable moves with a delay, peaks when the effects concentrate, and then decays as the system returns toward its baseline. The shape of that path encodes adjustment speed and persistence, which is why two systems with identical long-run equilibria can behave very differently in the short run.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_responseverified
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