We compared forecasts of stock market volatility based on real-time and revised macroeconomic data. To this end, we … used a statistical, a utility-based, and an options-based criterion to evaluate volatility forecasts. Our main result is … that the statistical and economic value of volatility forecasts based on real-time data is comparable to the value of …

for the years 1970 - 2004, we document how the volatility of hours worked and of wages of workers at different skill … volatility of employment, and this effect is strongest for low-skilled workers. A higher share of low-skilled employment has a … dampening impact. -- labor-market volatility ; skill levels ; financial globalization …