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Gary Koop
- 11 January 2021
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2510Details
- Abstract
- This paper develops Bayesian econometric methods for posterior inference in non-parametric mixed frequency VARs using additive regression trees. We argue that regression tree models are ideally suited for macroeconomic nowcasting in the face of extreme observations, for instance those produced by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This is due to their flexibility and ability to model outliers. In an application involving four major euro area countries, we find substantial improvements in nowcasting performance relative to a linear mixed frequency VAR.
- JEL Code
- C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General
C32 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models, Multiple Variables→Time-Series Models, Dynamic Quantile Regressions, Dynamic Treatment Effect Models, Diffusion Processes
C53 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric Modeling→Forecasting and Prediction Methods, Simulation Methods
E37 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
- 4 November 2019
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2325Details
- Abstract
- Time-varying parameter (TVP) models have the potential to be over-parameterized, particularly when the number of variables in the model is large. Global-local priors are increasingly used to induce shrinkage in such models. But the estimates produced by these priors can still have appreciable uncertainty. Sparsification has the potential to remove this uncertainty and improve forecasts. In this paper, we develop computationally simple methods which both shrink and sparsify TVP models. In a simulated data exercise we show the benefits of our shrink-then-sparsify approach in a variety of sparse and dense TVP regressions. In a macroeconomic forecast exercise, we find our approach to substantially improve forecast performance relative to shrinkage alone.
- JEL Code
- C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General
C30 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models, Multiple Variables→General
E3 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
D31 : Microeconomics→Distribution→Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
- 3 February 2012
- WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 1422Details
- Abstract
- This paper uses forecasts from the European Central Bank’s Survey of Professional Forecasters to investigate the relationship between inflation and inflation expectations in the euro area. We use theoretical structures based on the New Keynesian and Neoclassical Phillips curves to inform our empirical work and dynamic model averaging in order to ensure an econometric specification capturing potential changes. We use both regression-based and VAR-based methods. The paper confirms that there have been shifts in the Phillips curve and identifies three sub-periods in the EMU: an initial period of price stability, a few years where inflation was driven mainly by external shocks, and the financial crisis, where the New Keynesian Phillips curve outperforms alternative formulations. This finding underlines the importance of introducing informed judgment in forecasting models and is also important for the conduct of monetary policy, as the crisis entails changes in the effect of expectations on inflation and a resurgence of the “sacrifice ratio”.
- JEL Code
- E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
C53 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric Modeling→Forecasting and Prediction Methods, Simulation Methods
C11 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General→Bayesian Analysis: General