Surveys of Professional Forecasters produce precise and timely point forecasts for key macroeconomic variables. However, the accompanying density forecasts are not as widely utilized, and there is no consensus about their quality. This is partly because such surveys are often conducted for...

This paper proposes a framework to implement regression-based tests of predictive ability in unstable environments, including, in particular, forecast unbiasedness and efficiency tests, commonly referred to as tests of forecast rationality. Our framework is general: it can be applied to...

We propose new indices to measure macroeconomic uncertainty. The indices measure how unexpected a realization of a representative macroeconomic variable is relative to the unconditional forecast error distribution. We use forecast error distributions based on the nowcasts and forecasts of the...

We propose new methods for evaluating predictive densities in an environment where the estimation error of the parameters used to construct the densities is preserved asymptotically under the null hypothesis. The tests offer a simple way to evaluate the correct specification of predictive...

We evaluate conditional predictive densities for US output growth and inflation using a number of commonly-used forecasting models that rely on large numbers of macroeconomic predictors. More specifically, we evaluate how well conditional predictive densities based on the commonly-used normality...

We evaluate conditional predictive densities for U.S. output growth and inflation using a number of commonly used forecasting models that rely on a large number of macroeconomic predictors. More specifically, we evaluate how well conditional predictive densities based on the commonly used...

We propose new methods for evaluating predictive densities. The methods include Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Cramér-von Mises-type tests for the correct specification of predictive densities robust to dynamic mis-specification. The novelty is that the tests can detect mis-specification in the...

We propose new methods for evaluating predictive densities. The methods include Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Cramér–von Mises-type tests for the correct specification of predictive densities robust to dynamic mis-specification. The novelty is that the tests can detect mis-specification in the...

We evaluate various economic modelsí relative performance in forecasting future US output growth and inflation on a monthly basis. Our approach takes into account the possibility that the modelsí relative performance can be varying over time. We show that the modelsí relative performance has,...

We propose a new methodology to identify the sources of models’ forecasting performance. The methodology decomposes the models’ forecasting performance into asymptotically uncorrelated components that measure instabilities in the forecasting performance, predictive content, and over-fitting....