Die deutsche Wirtschaft entwickelte sich im Winterhalbjahr 2024/25 weiterhin schwach, da sich im unsicheren Vorfeld der Neuwahlen im Februar 2025 die privaten Verbraucher und Unternehmen weiter zurückhielten, zudem gingen die Exporte weiter zurück. Bei der Neuwahl erhielt die Union die...

Using a large cross-country dataset covering over 150 countries and more than 10 macroeconomic variables, this study examines the consistency of IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecasts with the full information rational expectations (FIRE) hypothesis. Similar to Consensus Economics forecasts,...

Global growth is projected at 3.3 percent both in 2025 and 2026, broadly unchanged from the October 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast with an upward revision in the United States offsetting downward revisions elsewhere. The near-term outlook is characterized by divergent paths, while...

This paper focuses on identifying useful indicators for nowcasting GDP in Sweden. We analyze 35 monthly indicators spanning the period from 1993 to 2023. Additionally, we evaluate the group-wise performance of these indicators. The analysis is conducted using mixed-data sampling (MIDAS) and...

In this paper, we propose a component-based dynamic factor model for nowcasting GDP growth. We combine ideas from "bottom-up" approaches, which utilize the national income accounting identity through modelling and predicting sub-components of GDP, with a dynamic factor (DF) model, which is...

We experimentally study how economic prospects and power shifts affect the risk of conflict through a dynamic power rivalry game. Players decide whether to maintain the status quo or challenge a rival under declining, constant, or growing economic prospects. We find that conflict rates are...

The German economy is stuck in a period of stagnation: Following two years of consecutive slight declines in GDP, growth is not expected for 2025 either. Weak exports, rising unemployment worries, and the resulting reserved private consumption and economic policy uncertainty are slowing the...

The German economy is stuck in a difficult position as it faces both slow growth as well as structural change. The continuing lack of orders in manufacturing, increasing international competition, and sluggish development in industry-related services are now affecting the labor market and...

Indonesia's economy remains resilient, buoyed by strong domestic demand and a recovering service sector. The current account deficit widened, driven by moderating terms of trade and cyclical factors that intensified services and income outflows. After two years of consolidation, the fiscal...

We provide a versatile nowcasting toolbox that supports three model classes (dynamic factor models, large Bayesian VAR, bridge equations) and offers methods to manage data selection and adjust for Covid-19 observations. The toolbox aims at simplifying two key tasks: creating new nowcasting...

Incoming data suggest a weakening in the prospects for euro area growth, but a consumption-led recovery remains the central scenario. Growth recovered in the first half of 2024 amid a boost from net trade. The latest indicators suggest growth will continue in the short run but at rates lower...

In the ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) for the third quarter of 2024, expectations for headline HICP inflation were largely unchanged from the previous survey (conducted in the second quarter of 2024).1 Headline inflation was expected to decline from 2.4% in 2024 to 2.0% in 2025...

Following a prolonged and broad-based stagnation, the EU economy resumed growth in the first quarter of this year. As projected in spring, the expansion continued at a subdued, yet steady, pace throughout the second and third quarters, amidst further abating inflationary pressures. The...

In the ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) for the third quarter of 2024, expectations for headline HICP inflation were largely unchanged from the previous survey (conducted in the second quarter of 2024).1 Headline inflation was expected to decline from 2.4% in 2024 to 2.0% in 2025...

The euro area economy is set to continue its gradual recovery over the coming years, amid significant geopolitical and policy uncertainty. Although growth resumed at a moderate pace in the course of 2024, recent indicators suggest a weakening of growth in the short term, with ongoing subdued...

The euro area economy is set to continue its gradual recovery over the coming years, amid significant geopolitical and policy uncertainty. Although growth resumed at a moderate pace in the course of 2024, recent indicators suggest a weakening of growth in the short term, with ongoing subdued...

We propose an easy-to-implement framework for combining quantile forecasts, applied to forecasting GDP growth. Using quantile regressions, our combination scheme assigns weights to individual forecasts from different indicators based on quantile scores. Previous studies suggest distributional...

Mit den Querelen in der Ampel-Koalition und deren schließlicher Beendigung haben sich die Unsicherheiten in der zweiten Jahreshälfte 2024 weiter erhöht. Private Verbraucher und vor allem Investoren halten sich weiter zurück. Nach den Revisionen des Statistischen Bundesamts gegenüber ersten...

This paper looks back on the 25-year history of the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF). Since its launch in the first quarter of 1999, it has served as an important input for policymaking and analysis, especially over the past five years, where the euro area has, following a period of...

We introduce a frequency-domain forecast combination method that leverages time- and frequencydependent predictability to enhance forecast accuracy. By decomposing both the target variables (equity premium and real GDP growth) and predictor variables into distinct frequency components, this...