A local dynamic conditional correlation model

This paper introduces the idea that the variances or correlations in financial returns may all change conditionally and slowly over time. A multi-step local dynamic conditional correlation model is proposed for simultaneously modelling these components. In particular, the local and conditional correlations are jointly estimated by multivariate kernel regression. A multivariate k-NN method with variable bandwidths is developed to solve the curse of dimension problem. Asymptotic properties of the estimators are discussed in detail. Practical performance of the model is illustrated by applications to foreign exchange rates.