Sector-specific shocks can impact the overall economy more than previously thought. By analyzing how different sectors interact, researchers found that the traditional idea that positive and negative shocks cancel each other out may not always hold true. The rate at which this cancellation happens depends on how sectors are connected, not just the number of sectors. Actual data from the U.S. economy suggests that a significant portion of overall economic volatility could be due to smaller shocks in individual sectors. This means that fluctuations in GDP growth rates could be influenced by independent shocks to specific industries.