In this paper we study international linkages when forecasting unemployment rates in a sample of 24 OECD economies. We propose a Global Unemployment Factor (GUF) and test its predictive ability considering in-sample and out-of-sample exercises. Our main results indicate that the predictive...

In this paper, we show that traditional comparisons of Mean Squared Prediction Error (MSPE) between two competing forecasts may be highly controversial. This is so because when some specific conditions of efficiency are not met, the forecast displaying the lowest MSPE will also display the...

This paper investigates the short-run and long-run relationships between four main Algerian macroeconomic variables, the investment of oil revenues, economic growth, unemployment rate, inflation rate, using the Johansen multivariate cointegration techniques as well as VAR model for the period...

This paper aims to verify how the performance of the agricultural sector affects the process of structural transformation of the Moroccan economy. It analyzes the dynamics of productivity in two ways. First, the speed of convergence of agricultural productivity to the level recorded by other...

In this paper it is demonstrated by simulation that, contrary to a widely held belief, pure seasonal mean shifts - i.e., seasonal structural breaks which affect only the deterministic seasonal cycle - really do matter for Dickey-Fuller long-run unit root tests.

We investigate the possibility of convergence and catching up of life expectancy values of West African countries with those of North African countries. Following the theory of time series convergence documented in Bernard and Durlauf (1996) and Greasley and Oxley (1997), we apply more robust...

The paper deals with estimation of both general GARCH as well as asymmetric EGARCH and TGARCH models, used to model the leverage effect of good news and bad news on market volatility. We estimate the models using daily returns of S&P 500 stock index and describe the news impact curves (NICs) for...

The paper deals with estimation of both general GARCH as well as asymmetric EGARCH and TGARCH models, used to model the leverage effect of good news and bad news on market volatility. We estimate the models using daily returns of S&P 500 stock index and describe the news impact curves (NICs) for...

This is a summary of the paper entitled : “The Mean Squared Prediction Error Paradox”. In that paper, we show that traditional comparisons of Mean Squared Prediction Error (MSPE) between two competing forecasts may be highly controversial. This is so because when some specific conditions of...

This draft is a summary of the paper entitled: Forecasting Fuel Prices with the Chilean Exchange Rate. In that paper we show that the Chilean exchange rate has the ability to predict the returns of oil prices and of three additional oil-related products: gasoline, propane and heating oil. The...