It is well known that volatility persistence is overestimated if regime shifts are not accounted for in the standard GARCH model. This research detects time periods of sudden changes in variance using the iterated cumulated sums of squares (ICSS) algorithm. Using weekly data for the Canadian...

Considerable attention has been given to examining the information content of the paper-bill spread in terms of predicting U.S. real economic activity. However, the results have been mixed. This paper examines the robustness of the paper-bill spread as an indicator variable of real output growth...

This article employs a recently developed time-series econometric technique to examine the magnitude and persistence of unanticipated changes in real output on unemployment rates by race and gender. Through the use of generalized impulse response analysis, we measure the extent to which the...

The spread between the rates on commercial paper and Treasury bills has received considerable attention in the literature for its role as an indicator of real economic activity. In this paper we empirically examine what happens when the volatility of the spread changes over time. We estimate a...

This paper employs univariate and bivariate GARCH models to examine the volatility of gold and oil futures incorporating structural breaks using daily returns from July 1, 1993 to June 30, 2010. We find strong evidence of significant transmission of volatility between gold and oil returns when...

Policy makers and financial market participants are interested in knowing how shocks affect the volatility of oil prices over time. We accurately compute the volatility persistence by incorporating endogenously determined structural breaks into a GARCH model. Contrary to previous findings, we...