Modeling short-term interest rates as following regime-switching processes has become increasingly popular. Theoretically, regime-switching models are able to capture rational expectations of infrequently occurring discrete events. Technically, they allow for potential time-varying stationarity....

This study uses Markov-switching models to evaluate the informational content of the term structure as a predictor of recessions in eight OECD countries. The empirical results suggest that for all countries the term spread is sensibly modelled as a two-state regime-switching process. Moreover,...

Aufgrund der einzel- und gesamtwirtschaftlichen Relevanz von Zinsänderungen ist das Interesse an Zinsprognosen traditionell sehr groß. Dennoch finden sich in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur nur relativ wenige Studien, welche die Prognosegüte ökonometrischer Verfahren "out of sample"...