Disputes about econometric methodology partly reflect a lack of evidence on alternative approaches. We reconsider econometric model selection from a computer-automation perspective, focusing on general-to-specific reductions, embodied in PcGets. Starting from a general congruent model, standard testing procedures eliminate statistically-insignificant variables, with diagnostic tests checking th...

We study the returns to investing in VIX futures and VIX Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs). We document a substantial negative return premium for both ETNs and the futures. For example, the a constant maturity portfolio of one-month VIX futures loses about 30% per year over our sample period (2006-2013). We propose an equilibrium model to explain these negative returns. In this model, increases in v...

A trivariate vector autoregression time series process, based on a present-value land price model, is used to decompose Iowa farmland prices into fundamental and non-fundamental components. A recent study, by Falk and Lee (1998), found that non-fundamental shocks are an important source of volatility in farmland prices and it was interpreted that these price movements were due to fads not specu...

This paper investigates whether the degree of predictability can be explained by existing asset pricing models, and provides two theoretical upper bounds on the R-square of the regression of stock returns on predictors for given classes of models of interest. Empirically, we find that the predictive R-square is significantly larger than the upper bounds permitted by well known asset pricing mod...

This paper analyses revisions of Swiss current account data, taking into account the actual data revision process and the implied types of revisions. In addition we investigate whether the first release of current account data can be improved upon by the use of survey results as gathered by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich. An answer in the affirmative indicates that it is possible ...

We conduct both an approximate Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) and an exact Bayesian analysis to incorporate break date uncertainty of the mean growth rate into the trend-cycle decomposition of U.S. real GDP. Our results suggest a structural break in mean growth rate of U.S. real GDP in 1970s. Comparing to the models assuming fixed break date, we find higher uncertainty in the posterior density ...

I use parametric and semiparametric methods to test for the order of integration in stock market indexes. The results, which are based on the EOE (Amsterdam), DAX (Frankfurt), Hang Seng (Hong Kong), FTSE100 (London), S&P500 (New York), CAC40 (Paris), Singapore All Shares, and the Japanese Nikkei, show that in almost all of the series the unit root hypothesis cannot be rejected. The Hang Seng an...

This paper examines the hypothesis that both stock returns and volatility are asymmetrical functions of past information from the US market. By employing a double-threshold GARCH model to investigate six major index-return series, we find strong evidence supporting the asymmetrical hypothesis of stock returns. Specifically, negative news from the US market will cause a larger decline in a natio...

Consider a non-standard parametric estimation problem, such as the estimation of the AR(1) coefficient close to the unit root. We develop a numerical algorithm that determines an estimator that is nearly (mean or median) unbiased, and among all such estimators, comes close to minimizing a weighted average risk criterion. We demonstrate the usefulness of our generic approach by also applying it ...

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the short-term interest-rate dynamics based on three different data sets and two flexible parametric specifications. The significance of nonlinearity in the short-rate drift declines with increasing maturity for the interest-rate series used in the study. Using a flexible diffusion specification and incorporating GARCH volatility and non-normal in...