Search Results
A Historical and Geographical Look at Federal Employment Levels
After a decline in the 1990s, the number of federal workers was relatively stable before rising in recent years. However, the levels have changed substantially in many states where they work.
Working Paper
Growth-at-Risk is Investment-at-Risk
We investigate the role financial conditions play in the composition of U.S. growth-at-risk. We document that, by a wide margin, growth-at-risk is investment-at-risk. That is, if financial conditions indicate U.S. real GDP growth will be in the lower tail of its conditional distribution, we know that the main contributor is a decline in investment. Consumption contributes under extreme financial stress. Government spending and net exports do not play a role. We show that leverage plays a key role in determining both consumption- and investment-at-risk, which provides support to the financial ...
Using Core Inflation to Predict Headline Inflation
An analysis of CPI data suggests that a measure of inflation excluding food and energy and a measure excluding only energy are useful predictors of overall inflation 12 months in the future.
Working Paper
FRED-QD: A Quarterly Database for Macroeconomic Research
In this paper we present and describe a large quarterly frequency, macroeconomic database. The data provided are closely modeled to that used in Stock and Watson (2012a). As in our previous work on FRED-MD, our goal is simply to provide a publicly available source of macroeconomic “big data” that is updated in real time using the FRED database. We show that factors extracted from this data set exhibit similar behavior to those extracted from the original Stock and Watson data set. The dominant factors are shown to be insensitive to outliers, but outliers do affect the relative influence ...
Journal Article
Factor-based prediction of industry-wide bank stress
This article investigates the use of factor-based methods for predicting industry-wide bank stress. Specifically, using the variables detailed in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors? bank stress scenarios, the authors construct a small collection of distinct factors. We then investigate the predictive content of these factors for net charge-offs and net interest margins at the bank industry level. The authors find that the factors do have significant predictive content, both in and out of sample, for net interest margins but significantly less predictive content for net charge-offs. ...
Working Paper
Averaging forecasts from VARs with uncertain instabilities
Recent work suggests VAR models of output, inflation, and interest rates may be prone to instabilities. In the face of such instabilities, a variety of estimation or forecasting methods might be used to improve the accuracy of forecasts from a VAR. The uncertainty inherent in any single representation of instability could mean that combining forecasts from a range of approaches will improve forecast accuracy. Focusing on models of U.S. output, prices, and interest rates, this paper examines the effectiveness of combining various models of instability in improving VAR forecasts made with ...
Working Paper
Modeling Time-Varying Uncertainty of Multiple-Horizon Forecast Errors
We develop uncertainty measures for point forecasts from surveys such as the Survey of Professional Forecasters, Blue Chip, or the Federal Open Market Committee?s Summary of Economic Projections. At a given point of time, these surveys provide forecasts for macroeconomic variables at multiple horizons. To track time-varying uncertainty in the associated forecast errors, we derive a multiple-horizon specification of stochastic volatility. Compared to constant-variance approaches, our stochastic-volatility model improves the accuracy of uncertainty measures for survey forecasts.
Journal Article
Housing's role in a recovery
Housing tends to contribute significantly to an economic recovery.
Working Paper
In-sample tests of predictive ability: a new approach
This paper presents analytical, Monte Carlo, and empirical evidence linking in-sample tests of predictive content and out-of-sample forecast accuracy. Our approach focuses on the negative effect that finite-sample estimation error has on forecast accuracy despite the presence of significant population-level predictive content. Specifically, we derive simple-to-use in-sample tests that test not only whether a particular variable has predictive content but also whether this content is estimated precisely enough to improve forecast accuracy. Our tests are asymptotically non-central chi-square or ...
Journal Article
Tracking the U.S. Economy with Nowcasts
The Federal Open Market Committee wants its interest-rate decisions to be data-dependent. But until the past several years, much of the statistical information available?not just to the FOMC, but anyone?had come from reports that looked backward at conditions from the previous month or even quarter. New models developed by economists allow for forecasting of conditions in the current quarter as reports arrive on a day-to-day basis?as in now. Hence, ?nowcasts.?