This paper suggests an affine term structure model of real interest rates to predict changes in real consumption growth. The model is estimated, jointly, by real interest rates and consumption data, and it is found to be consistent with the consumption smoothing hypothesis. The paper shows that...

This paper provides clear cut evidence that the slope and curvature factors of the yield curve contain more information about future changes in economic activity than the term spread alone, often used in practice as an indicator of future economic conditions. These two factors constitute...