We investigate the latent volatility structures of the fluctuations in the US business cycle and stock market valuations. The technical novelty of this work lies in the estimation of a Markov-switching stochastic-volatility model that allows for Bayesian sequential evaluation on both the...

We develop an unobserved component model in which the short-term interest rate is composed of a stochastic trend and a stationary cycle. Using the Nelson-Siegel model of the yield curve as inspiration, we estimate an extremely parsimonious state-space model of interest rates across time and...

This paper identifies the expansion and contraction phases of New Zealand's national and regional house prices, by employing techniques typically used to study cycles in real activity, the so-called Classical cycle dating method. We then enquire into the nature of the cycles, addressing five...

This paper uses a Merton-type estimate of the probability of default (PoD) for the main banks in a sample of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and middle-income countries as a proxy for the fragility of their banking systems. Based on theory and stylized facts, the paper...

This paper develops the Regime Dependent Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (RD-GARCH) model and applies it to a daily index of returns on U.S. equities. The RD-GARCH model is different from previous models in that it combines Hentschel's single specification that nests...

The problem of business cycle symmetry is addressed within the context of time reversibility. To this effect, we introduce a time domain test of time reversibility, the TR test. In an application we show that time irreversibility is the rule rather than the exception for two well-known...

The nonlinear testing and modeling of economic and financial time series has increased substantially in recent years, enabling us to better understand market and price behavior, risk and the formation of expectations. Such tests have also been applied to commodity market behavior, providing...

Using unobserved stochastic components and Kalman filter techniques, the paper assesses the relative importance of transitory and permanent shifts in Italian real GDP within a production function framework. Evidence suggests that the increase in hours worked that has accompanied pension and...

A simple criterion based on the properties of the forecast error is presented to evaluate the accuracy of forecasts. The efficiency conditions of an optimization problem are used to show that under rational expectations the standard statistical conditions are necessary, but not sufficient to...

Commodity price behavior holds much interest not only because these markets are affected by waves of speculative activity similar to security markets but more so that these commodities are linked to industries which purchase them and developing country producers which supply them. Commodity spot...