Analyses of forecasting that assume a constant, time-invariant data generating process (DGP), and so implicitly rule out structural change or regime shifts in the economy, ignore an aspect of the real world responsible for some of the more dramatic historical episodes of predictive failure. Some...

Much of the short-run movement in energy demand in the United Kingdom is seasonal, and the contribution of long- run factors to short-run forecasts is slight. Nevertheless, using a variety of techniques, including a recently developed estimation procedure that is applicable irrespective of the...

In this paper we introduce a new testing procedure for evaluating the rationality of fixed-event forecasts based on a pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator. The procedure is designed to be robust to departures in the normality assumption. A model is introduced to show that such departures are...

This paper examines the effects of judgmental adjustments on the rationality of macroeconomic forecasts. Published forecasts based on large-scale models are rarely purely model-based but often include extensive adjustments. Forecasters' adjustments tend to improve forecast accuracy but there is...

The authors delineate conditions which favor multistep, or dynamic, estimation for multistep forecasting. An analytical example shows how dynamic estimation may accommodate incorrectly specified models as the forecast lead alters, improving forecast performance for some misspecifications....

Many macroeconomic series, such as U.S. real output growth, are sampled quarterly, although potentially useful predictors are often observed at a higher frequency. We look at whether a mixed data-frequency sampling (MIDAS) approach can improve forecasts of output growth. The MIDAS specification...

We consider the implications for forecast accuracy of imposing unit roots and cointegrating restrictions in linear systems of I(1) variables in levels, differences, and cointegrated combinations. Asymptotic formulae are obtained for multi-step forecast error variances for each representation....

We consider a number of ways of testing whether macroeconomic forecasters herd or anti-herd, i.e., whether they shade their forecasts towards those of others or purpose- fully exaggerate their differences. When applied to survey respondents expectations of inflation and output growth the tests...