Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the out-of-sample model bias plays an important role in predicting volatility.

Under the heterogeneous autoregressive realized volatility (HAR-RV) framework, we analyze the predictive power of out-of-sample model bias for the realized volatility (RV) of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 (SPX) indices from in-sample and out-of-sample perspectives respectively.

The in-sample results reveal that the prediction model including the model bias can obtain bigger R², and the out-of-sample empirical results based on several evaluation methods suggest that the prediction model incorporating model bias can improve forecast accuracy for the RV of the DJI and the SPX indices. That is, model bias can enhance the predictability of original HAR family models.

The author introduce out-of-sample model bias into HAR family models to enhance model capability in predicting realized volatility.

Outlines previous research on company failure prediction and discusses some of the methodological issues involved. Extends an earlier study (Tan 1997) using artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict financial distress in Australian credit unions by extending the forecast period of the models, presents the results and compares them with probit model results. Finds the ANN models generally at least as good as the probit, although both types improved their accuracy rates (for Type I and Type II errors) when early warning signals were included. Believes ANN “is a promising technique” although more research is required, and suggests some avenues for this.

This paper aims to investigate whether the amount of local governments’ debt can be predicted by the level of political competition.

The study uses the artificial neural network (ANN) to test whether ANN can “learn” from the observed data and make reliable out-of-sample predictions of the target variable value (i.e. a local government’s debt level) for given values of the predictor variables. An ANN is a non-parametric prediction tool, that is, not susceptible to the common limitations of regression-based parametric forecasting models, e.g. multi-collinearity and latent non-linear relations.

The study finds that “political competition” is a useful predictor of a local government’s debt level. Moreover, a positive relationship between political competition and debt level is indicated, i.e. increases in political competition typically leads to increases in a local government’s level of debt.

The study contributes to public sector reporting literature by investigating whether public debt levels can be predicted on the basis of political competition while discounting factors such as “political ideology” and “fragmentation”. The findings of the study are consistent with the expectations posited by public choice theory and have implications for public sector auditing, policy and reporting standards, particularly in terms of minimising potential political opportunism.

The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the exposure of the Theil–Sen (TS) methodology to the academic, analyst and practitioner communities using an earnings forecast setting. The study includes an appendix that describes the TS model in very basic terms and SAS code to assist readers in the implementation of the TS model. The study also presents an alternative approach to deflating or scaling variables.

Archival in nature using a combination of regression analysis and binomial tests.

The binomial test results support the hypothesis that the forecasting performance of the naïve no-change model is at least equal to or better than the ordinary least squares (OLS) model when earnings volatility is low. However, the results do not support the same hypothesis for the TS model nor do the results support the hypothesis that the OLS and TS models will outperform the naïve no-change model when cash flow volatility is high. Nevertheless, the study makes notable contributions to the literature, as the results indicate that the performance of the naïve model is at least as good as the OLS and TS models across 18 of the 20 binomial tests. Moreover, the results indicate that the performance of the TS model is always superior to the OLS model.

The results are generalizable to US firms and may not extend to non-US firms.

The TS methodology is advantageous to OLS in that the results are robust to outlier observations, and there is no heteroscedasticity. Researchers will find this study to be useful given the use of a model (i.e. TS) which has to date received little attention, and the provision of the details for the mechanics of the model. A bonus for researchers is that the study includes SAS code for implementing the procedure.

Awareness of alternative forecast methodologies could lead to improved forecasting results in certain contexts. The study also helps the financial community in general, as improved forecasting abilities are important for all capital market participants as they improve market efficiency.

Although a healthy literature exists for examining out-of-sample forecasts for earnings, the literature lacks an answer for a simple question before pursuing additional analyses: Are the results any better than those from a naive no-change forecast? The current study emphasizes the idea that the naïve no-change forecast is the most elementary model possible, and the researcher must first establish the superiority of a more complex model before conducting further analyses.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive ability of different well-known models for capturing time variation in betas against a novel approach where the beta coefficient is treated as a function of market return.

Different GARCH models, the Kalman filter algorithm and the Schwert and Seguin model are used against our novel approach. The mean square error, the mean absolute error and the Diebold and Mariano test statistic constitute the measures of forecast accuracy. All models are tested over nine consecutive years and three different samples.

The results show substantial differences in predictive accuracy among the samples. The new approach of modelling the systematic risk overwhelms the rest of the models in longer samples. In the smallest sample, the Kalman filter random walk model prevails. The examination of parameters between two groups of stocks with best and worst accuracy results depicts significant variations. For these stocks, the iid assumption of return is rejected and large differences exist on diagnostic tests.

This study contributes to the literature with different ways. First, it examines the predictive accuracy of betas with different well-known models and introduces a novel approach. Second, after constructing betas from the estimated models’ parameters, they are used for out-of-sample instead of in-sample forecasts over nine consecutive years and three different samples. Third, a more closely examination of the models’ parameters could signal at an early stage the candidate models with the expected lowest forecasting errors. Finally, the study carries out some diagnostic tests for examining whether the existence of iid normal returns is accompanied by better performance.

This study aims to address the issue of prediction of inflation differences for an economy that considers either fixing its exchange rate or joining a currency union. In this setting, individual countries have limited control over their inflation, and anticipating the possible course of domestic inflation relative to inflation abroad becomes an important input in policy-making. In this context, the author compares simple forecast heuristics and econometric modeling.

The study compares two basically different approaches. The first approach of forecasting consists of simple heuristics. Various heuristics are considered that differ with respect to the economic reasoning that goes into quantifying the forecast rules. The simplest such forecasting heuristic suggests that the average over all available observations of inflation differentials should be taken as a predictor for the future. Bringing more economic insight to bear suggests a further heuristic according to which historical inflation differentials should be adjusted for changes in the nominal exchange rate. A further variant of this approach suggests that a forecast should exclusively rely on data from earlier times under a pegged exchange rate. A fundamentally different approach to prediction builds on dynamic econometric models estimated by using all available historical data independent of the currency regime.

The author studies three small member countries of the Eurozone, i.e. Finland, Luxembourg and Portugal. For the evaluation of the various forecasting strategies, he performs out-of-sample predictions over a horizon of five years. The comparison of the four different forecasting strategies documents that the variant of the forecast heuristic that draws on data from earlier experiences under fixed exchange rates performs better than the forecast based on the estimated econometric model.

The findings of this study provide helpful guidelines for countries considering either joining a currency union or fixing their exchange rate. The author shows that a simple forecasting heuristic gives sound advice for assessing the likely course of inflation.

This study describes how economic theory can guide the selection of historical data for assessing likely future developments. The analysis shows that using a simple heuristic based on historical analogy can lead to better forecasts than the analytically more sophisticated approach of econometric modeling.

This article surveys recent developments in the evaluation of point and density forecasts in the context of forecasts made by vector autoregressions. Specific emphasis is placed on highlighting those parts of the existing literature that are applicable to direct multistep forecasts and those parts that are applicable to iterated multistep forecasts. This literature includes advancements in the evaluation of forecasts in population (based on true, unknown model coefficients) and the evaluation of forecasts in the finite sample (based on estimated model coefficients). The article then examines in Monte Carlo experiments the finite-sample properties of some tests of equal forecast accuracy, focusing on the comparison of VAR forecasts to AR forecasts. These experiments show the tests to behave as should be expected given the theory. For example, using critical values obtained by bootstrap methods, tests of equal accuracy in population have empirical size about equal to nominal size.

In the last few decades, there has been growing interest in forecasting with computer intelligence, and both fuzzy time series (FTS) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) have gained particular popularity, among others. Rather than the conventional methods (e.g., econometrics), FTS and ANN are usually thought to be immune to fundamental concepts such as stationarity, theoretical causality, post-sample control, among others. On the other hand, a number of studies significantly indicated that these fundamental controls are required in terms of the theory of forecasting, and even application of such essential procedures substantially improves the forecasting accuracy. The aim of this paper is to fill the existing gap on modeling and forecasting in the FTS and ANN methods and figure out the fundamental concepts in a comprehensive work through merits and common failures in the literature. In addition to these merits, this paper may also be a guideline for eliminating unethical empirical settings in the forecasting studies.