This paper introduces a new family of portmanteau tests for serial correlation. Using the wavelet transform, we decompose the variance of the underlying process into the variance of its low frequency and of its high frequency components and we design a variance ratio test of no serial...

This paper shows that for five small commodity-exporting countries that have adopted inflation targeting monetary policies, world commodity price aggregates have predictive power for their CPI and PPI inflation, particularly once possible structural breaks are taken into account. This conclusion...

This paper develops asymptotic econometric theory to help understand data generated by a present value model with a discount factor near one. A leading application is to exchange rate models. A key assumption of the asymptotic theory is that the discount factor approaches one as the sample size...

This paper develops new test methods for m-dependent data. Our approach is based on sample splitting by regular sampling of the original data at lower frequencies, so that standard techniques for testing independence can be used for each individual subsample. We then propose several alternative...

This paper introduces the concept of risk parameter in conditional volatility models of the form ϵt=σt(θ0)ηt and develops statistical procedures to estimate this parameter. For a given risk measure r, the risk parameter is expressed as a function of the volatility coefficients θ0 and the...

This paper presents a variety of tests of volatility spillover that are robust to heavy tails generated by large errors or GARCH-type feedback. The tests are couched in a general conditional heteroskedasticity framework with idiosyncratic shocks that are only required to have a finite variance...

We decompose the squared VIX index, derived from US S&P500 options prices, into the conditional variance of stock returns and the equity variance premium. We evaluate a plethora of state-of-the-art volatility forecasting models to produce an accurate measure of the conditional variance. We then...

We propose methods for constructing confidence sets for the timing of a break in level and/or trend that have asymptotically correct coverage for both I(0) and I(1) processes. These are based on inverting a sequence of tests for the break location, evaluated across all possible break dates. We...

We propose a residual-based augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) test statistic that allows for detection of stationary cointegration within a system that may contain both I(2) and I(1) observables. The test is also consistent under the alternative of multicointegration, where first differences of...

We examine the evidence on excess stock return predictability in a Bayesian setting in which the investor faces uncertainty about both the existence and strength of predictability. When we apply our methods to the dividend-price ratio, we find that even investors who are quite skeptical about...