A Bayesian Approach to Testing for Markov Switching in Univariate and Dynamic Factor Models

Though Hamilton's (1989) Markov switching model has been widely estimated in various contexts, formal testing for Markov switching is not straightforward. Univariate tests in the classical framework by Hansen (1992) and Garcia (1998) do not reject the linear model for GDP. We present Bayesian tests for Markov switching in both univariate and multivariate settings based on sensitivity of the posterior probability to the prior. We find that evidence for Markov switching, and thus the business cycle asymmetry, is stronger in a switching version of the dynamic factor model of Stock and Watson (1991) than it is for GDP by itself