Holston, Laubach and Williams' (2017) estimates of the natural rate of interest are driven by the downward trending behaviour of 'other factor' z(t). I show that their implementation of Stock and Watson's (1998) Median Unbiased Estimation (MUE) to determine the size of parameter λ(z) which...

The notion of a natural real rate of interest, due to Wicksell (1936), is widely used in current central bank research. The idea is that there exists a level at which the real interest rate would be compatible with output being at its potential and stationary inflation. This paper applies the...

We modify the Laubach-Williams and Holston-Laubach-Williams models of the natural rate of interest to account for time-varying volatility and a persistent COVID supply shock during the pandemic. Resulting estimates of the natural rate of interest in the United States, Canada, and the Euro Area...

The notion of a natural real rate of interest, due to Wicksell (1936), is widely used in current central bank research. The idea is that there exists a level at which the real interest rate would be compatible with output at its potential level and stationary inflation. Such a consept is of...

A review of the general state-space modeling framework. The discussion focuses heavily on the three prediction problems of forecasting, filtering, and smoothing within the state- space context. Numerous examples are provided detailing special cases of the state-space model and its use in solving...

Structural time series models are formulated in terms of components, such as trends, seasonals and cycles, that have a direct interpretation. As well as providing a framework for time series decomposition by signal extraction, they can be used for forecasting and for ‘nowcasting’. The...

This article presents a computationally efficient approach to sample from Gaussian state space models. The method is an instance of precision-based sampling methods that operate on the inverse variance-covariance matrix of the states (also known as precision). The novelty is to handle cases...

Risk is at the center of many policy decisions in companies, governments and other institutions. The risk of road fatalities concerns local governments in planning counter- measures, the risk and severity of counterparty default concerns bank risk managers on a daily basis and the risk of...

We present a model for hourly electricity load forecasting based on stochastically time-varying processes that are designed to account for changes in customer behaviour and in utility production efficiencies. The model is periodic: it consists of different equations and different parameters for...

This paper studies the evolution of long-run output and labour productivity growth rates in the G-7 countries during the post-war period. We estimate the growth rates consistent with a constant unemployment rate using time-varying parameter models that incorporate both stochastic volatility and...