Researchers in finance very often rely on highly persistent – nearly integrated – explanatory variables to predict returns. However, statistical inference in predictive regressions depends critically upon the stochastic properties of the posited explanatory variable, and in particular, of...

We perform a comprehensive examination of the recursive, comparative predictive performance of a number of linear and non-linear models for UK stock and bond returns. We estimate Markov switching, threshold autoregressive (TAR), and smooth transition autoregressive (STR) regime switching models,...