Does the Yield Spread Predict the Output Gap in the U.S.?

Yes, but only at short horizons from 1 to 3 quarters over the full post-World War II sample. The predictive relation between the yield spread and the output gap is characterized by parameter instability. Differently from the predictive models of the yield spread for output growth, structural instability is not due to a loss of predictive ability after 1985. Rather, the predictive relation estimated on post-1985 data holds for a range of horizons larger than for pre-1985 data. I also show that the information on current monetary policy is statistically irrelevant for the prediction of the output gap over the post-1985 subsample.