A probit model is used to examine the stability of the predictive content of the term structure in forecasting U.S. recessions. In particular, we compare forecasts of a recession under different assumptions regarding the presence of a structural break. We find strong evidence of the existence of...

This paper evaluates the ability of a statistical regime-switching model to identify turning points in U.S. economic activity in real time. The authors work with Markov-switching models of real GDP and employment that, when estimated on the entire post-war sample, provide a chronology of...