This paper assesses the robustness of the relative performance of spot- and options-based volatility forecasts to the treatment of microstructure noise. Robustness of the results to the method of constructing option-implied forecasts is also investigated. Using a test for superior predictive...

Recent empirical work has questioned the consistency of US fiscal policy with an intertemporal budget constraint. Empirical results have tended to indicate that the deficit process has undergone at least one structural shift during recent decades, with the deficit becoming either unsustainable...