Tests for Parameter Instability in Regressions with 1(1) Processes

This article derives the large-sample distributions of Lagrange multiplier (LM) tests for parameter instability against several alternatives of interest in the context of cointegrated regression models. The fully modified estimator of Phillips and Hansen is extended to cover general models with stochastic and deterministic trends. The test statistics considered include the SupF test of Quandt, as well as the LM tests of Nyblom and of Nabeya and Tanaka. It is found that the asymptotic distributions depend on the nature of the regressor processes—that is, if the regressors are stochastic or deterministic trends. The distributions are noticeably different from the distributions when the data are weakly dependent. It is also found that the lack of cointegration is a special case of the alternative hypothesis considered (an unstable intercept), so the tests proposed here may also be viewed as a test of the null of cointegration against the alternative of no cointegration. The tests are applied to three data sets—an aggregate consumption function, a present value model of stock prices and dividends, and the term structure of interest rates.     

Quasi-likelihood ratio tests for cointegration,cobreaking, and cotrending

We consider a set of variables with two types of nonstationary features, stochastic trends and broken linear trends. We develop tests that can determine whether there is a linear combination of these variables under which the nonstationary features can be canceled out. The first test can determine whether stochastic trends can be eliminated and thus whether cointegration holds, regardless of whether structural breaks in linear trends are eliminated. The second test can determine whether both stochastic trends and breaks in linear trends are simultaneously removed and thus whether cointegration and cobreaking simultaneously hold. The third test can determine whether not only breaks in linear trends but also linear trends themselves are eliminated along with stochastic trends and thus whether both cointegration and cotrending hold.     

Functional-coefficient cointegration models in the presence of deterministic trends

In this article, we extend the functional-coefficient cointegration model (FCCM) to the cases in which nonstationary regressors contain both stochastic and deterministic trends. A nondegenerate distributional theory on the local linear (LL) regression smoother of the FCCM is explored. It is demonstrated that even when integrated regressors are endogenous, the limiting distribution is the same as if they were exogenous. Finite-sample performance of the LL estimator is investigated via Monte Carlo simulations in comparison with an alternative estimation method. As an application of the FCCM, electricity demand analysis in Illinois is considered.     

Weighted composite quantile regression analysis for nonignorable missing data using nonresponse instrument

Efficient statistical inference on nonignorable missing data is a challenging problem. This paper proposes a new estimation procedure based on composite quantile regression (CQR) for linear regression models with nonignorable missing data, that is applicable even with high-dimensional covariates. A parametric model is assumed for modelling response probability, which is estimated by the empirical likelihood approach. Local identifiability of the proposed strategy is guaranteed on the basis of an instrumental variable approach. A set of data-based adaptive weights constructed via an empirical likelihood method is used to weight CQR functions. The proposed method is resistant to heavy-tailed errors or outliers in the response. An adaptive penalisation method for variable selection is proposed to achieve sparsity with high-dimensional covariates. Limiting distributions of the proposed estimators are derived. Simulation studies are conducted to investigate the finite sample performance of the proposed methodologies. An application to the ACTG 175 data is analysed.     

SEMIFAR forecasts, with applications to foreign exchange rates

SEMIFAR models introduced in Beran (1997. Estimating trends, long-range dependence and nonstationarity, preprint) provide a semiparametric modelling framework that enables the data analyst to separate deterministic and stochastic trends as well as short- and long-memory components in an observed time series. A correct distinction between these components, and in particular, the decision which of the components may be present in the data have an important impact on forecasts. In this paper, forecasts and forecast intervals for SEMIFAR models are obtained. The forecasts are based on an extrapolation of the nonparametric trend function and optimal forecasts of the stochastic component. In the data analytical part of the paper, the proposed method is applied to foreign exchange rates from Europe and Asia.     

Vector autoregression and causality: a theoretical overview and simulation study

This paper provides a theoretical overview of Wald tests for Granger causality in levels vector autoregressions (VAR's) and Johansen-type error correction models (ECM's). The theory is based on results in Toda and Phillips (1991a) and allows for stochastic and deterministic trends as well as arbitrary degrees of cointegration. We recommend some operational procedures for conducting Granger causality tests that are based on the Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation of ECM's. These procedures are applicable in the important practical case of testing the causal effects of one variable on another group of variables and vice versa. This paper also investigates the sampling properties of these testing procedures through simulation exercises. Three sequential causality tests in ECM's are compared with conventional causality tests in levels and differences VAR's.     

Vector autoregression and causality: a theoretical overview and simulation study

This paper provides a theoretical overview of Wald tests for Granger causality in levels vector autoregressions (VAR's) and Johansen-type error correction models (ECM's). The theory is based on results in Toda and Phillips (1991a) and allows for stochastic and deterministic trends as well as arbitrary degrees of cointegration. We recommend some operational procedures for conducting Granger causality tests that are based on the Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation of ECM's. These procedures are applicable in the important practical case of testing the causal effects of one variable on another group of variables and vice versa. This paper also investigates the sampling properties of these testing procedures through simulation exercises. Three sequential causality tests in ECM's are compared with conventional causality tests in levels and differences VAR's.     

Bayesian Inference in Cointegrated I (2) Systems: A Generalization of the Triangular Model

This paper generalizes the cointegrating model of Phillips (1991) to allow for I (0), I (1) and I (2) processes. The model has a simple form that permits a wider range of I (2) processes than are usually considered, including a more flexible form of polynomial cointegration. Further, the specification relaxes restrictions identified by Phillips (1991) on the I (1) and I (2) cointegrating vectors and restrictions on how the stochastic trends enter the system. To date there has been little work on Bayesian I (2) analysis and so this paper attempts to address this gap in the literature. A method of Bayesian inference in potentially I (2) processes is presented with application to Australian money demand using a Jeffreys prior and a shrinkage prior.     

SEPARATION, WEAK EXOGENEITY, AND P-T DECOMPOSITION IN COINTEGRATED VAR SYSTEMS WITH COMMON FEATURES

The aim of this paper is to study the concept of separability in multiple nonstationary time series displaying both common stochastic trends and common stochastic cycles. When modeling the dynamics of multiple time series for a panel of several entities such as countries, sectors, firms, imposing some form of separability and commonalities is often required to restrict the dimension of the parameter space. For this purpose we introduce the concept of common feature separation and investigate the relationships between separation in cointegration and separation in serial correlation common features. Loosely speaking we investigate whether a set of time series can be partitioned into subsets such that there are serial correlation common features within the sub-groups only. The paper investigates three issues. First, it provides conditions for separating joint cointegrating vectors into marginal cointegrating vectors as well as separating joint short-term dynamics into marginal short-term dynamics. Second, conditions for making permanent-transitory decompositions based on marginal systems are given. Third, issues of weak exogeneity are considered. Likelihood ratio type tests for the different hypotheses under study are proposed. An empirical analysis of the link between economic fluctuations in the United States and Canada shows the practical relevance of the approach proposed in this paper.     

Selection of Multivariate Stochastic Volatility Models via Bayesian Stochastic Search

We propose a Bayesian stochastic search approach to selecting restrictions on multivariate regression models where the errors exhibit deterministic or stochastic conditional volatilities. We develop a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm that generates posterior restrictions on the regression coefficients and Cholesky decompositions of the covariance matrix of the errors. Numerical simulations with artificially generated data show that the proposed method is effective in selecting the data-generating model restrictions and improving the forecasting performance of the model. Applying the method to daily foreign exchange rate data, we conduct stochastic search on a VAR model with stochastic conditional volatilities.     

Bayesian estimation and stochastic model specification search for dynamic survival models

Dynamic survival models are a useful extension of the popular Cox model as the effects of explanatory variables are allowed to change over time. In this paper a new auxiliary mixture sampler for Bayesian estimation of the model parameters is introduced. This sampler forms the basis of a model space MCMC method for stochastic model specification search in dynamic survival models, which involves selection of covariates to include in the model as well as specification of effects as time-varying or constant. The method is applied to two well-known data sets from the literature.     

Test for cointegration based on two-stage least squares

A residual-based test for cointegration is proposed. The method of two-stage least squares is used to estimate the cointegration model parameters. The residuals are then tested for the existence of a unit root using the augmented Dickey-Fuller test.     

Bootstrap LR tests of stationarity,common trends and cointegration

This paper considers the likelihood ratio (LR) tests of stationarity, common trends and cointegration for multivariate time series. As the distribution of these tests is not known, a bootstrap version is proposed via a state- space representation. The bootstrap samples are obtained from the Kalman filter innovations under the null hypothesis. Monte Carlo simulations for the Gaussian univariate random walk plus noise model show that the bootstrap LR test achieves higher power for medium-sized deviations from the null hypothesis than a locally optimal and one-sided Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test that has a known asymptotic distribution. The power gains of the bootstrap LR test are significantly larger for testing the hypothesis of common trends and cointegration in multivariate time series, as the alternative asymptotic procedure – obtained as an extension of the LM test of stationarity – does not possess properties of optimality. Finally, it is shown that the (pseudo-)LR tests maintain good size and power properties also for the non-Gaussian series. An empirical illustration is provided.     

Bayesian Dynamic Factor Models and Portfolio Allocation

We discuss the development of dynamic factor models for multivariate financial time series, and the incorporation of stochastic volatility components for latent factor processes. Bayesian inference and computation is developed and explored in a study of the dynamic factor structure of daily spot exchange rates for a selection of international currencies. The models are direct generalizations of univariate stochastic volatility models and represent specific varieties of models recently discussed in the growing multivariate stochastic volatility literature. We discuss model fitting based on retrospective data and sequential analysis for forward filtering and short-term forecasting. Analyses are compared with results from the much simpler method of dynamic variance-matrix discounting that, for over a decade, has been a standard approach in applied financial econometrics. We study these models in analysis, forecasting, and sequential portfolio allocation for a selected set of international exchange-rate-return time series. Our goals are to understand a range of modeling questions arising in using these factor models and to explore empirical performance in portfolio construction relative to discount approaches. We report on our experiences and conclude with comments about the practical utility of structured factor models and on future potential model extensions.     

Generating multivariate continuous data via the notion of nearest neighbors

Taylor and Thompson [15] introduced a clever algorithm for simulating multivariate continuous data sets that resemble the original data. Their approach is predicated upon determining a few nearest neighbors of a given row of data through a statistical distance measure, and subsequently combining the observations by stochastic multipliers that are drawn from a uniform distribution to generate simulated data that essentially maintain the original data trends. The newly drawn values are assumed to come from the same underlying hypothetical process that governs the mechanism of how the data are formed. This technique is appealing in that no density estimation is required. We believe that this data-based simulation method has substantial potential in multivariate data generation due to the local nature of the generation scheme, which does not have strict specification requirements as in most other algorithms. In this work, we provide two R routines: one has a built-in simulator for finding the optimal number of nearest neighbors for any given data set, and the other generates pseudo-random data using this optimal number.     

Embodied Technological Change and Tests of the Internal-Adjustment-Cost Hypothesis

Standard unit-root and cointegration tests are sensitive to atypical events such as outliers and structural breaks. In this article, we use outlier-robust estimation techniques to examine the impact of these events on cointegration analysis. Our outlier-robust cointegration test provides a new diagnostic tool for signaling when standard cointegration results might be driven by a few aberrant observations. A main feature of our approach is that the proposed robust estimator can be used to compute weights for all observations, which in turn can be used to identify the approximate dates of atypical events. We evaluate our method using simulated data and a Monte Carlo experiment. We also present an empirical example showing the usefulness of the proposed analysis.     

A generalization of the Solis-Wets method

In this paper we focus on the application of global stochastic optimization methods to extremum estimators. We propose a general stochastic method—the master method—which includes several stochastic optimization algorithms as a particular case. The proposed method is sufficiently general to include the Solis-Wets method, the improving hit-and-run algorithm, and a stochastic version of the zigzag algorithm. A matrix formulation of the master method is presented and some specific results are given for the stochastic zigzag algorithm. Convergence of the proposed method is established under a mild set of conditions, and a simple regression model is used to illustrate the method.     

A class of Box-Cox transformation models for recurrent event data

In this article, we propose a class of Box-Cox transformation models for recurrent event data, which includes the proportional means models as special cases. The new model offers great flexibility in formulating the effects of covariates on the mean functions of counting processes while leaving the stochastic structure completely unspecified. For the inference on the proposed models, we apply a profile pseudo-partial likelihood method to estimate the model parameters via estimating equation approaches and establish large sample properties of the estimators and examine its performance in moderate-sized samples through simulation studies. In addition, some graphical and numerical procedures are presented for model checking. An example of application on a set of multiple-infection data taken from a clinic study on chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is also illustrated.     

基于半参数混频误差修正模型的中国CPI预测研究

考虑宏观经济变量具有明显的非线性特征,将非线性误差修正项引入存在协整关系的非平稳混频数据抽样（MIDAS）模型中,构建半参数混频数据抽样误差修正（SEMI-ECM-MIDAS）模型。使用广义似然比（GLR）检验,拓展了混频数据下模型函数形式的一致性检验问题。模拟结果表明SEMI-ECM-MIDAS模型对存在非线性误差修正机制的数据具有显著的预测优势。最后使用该模型研究中国股票市场周度数据、广义货币发行量月度数据和国际原油市场月度数据对中国CPI的短期预测效果。基于AIC准则,对包含半参数模型在内的4种混频数据抽样模型和2种同频模型的连续预测效果进行了全面的比较。研究结果发现：GLR检验表明误差修正项具有明显的非线性特征且在回归中具有显著的反向修正机制,无论采用递归样本、滚动样本还是固定样本,本文提出的SEMI-ECM-MIDAS模型在进行连续预测时均具有最优的预测精度,且预测结果不受混频动态协整关系选择的影响。     

Stochastic EM algorithm of a finite mixture model from hurdle Poisson distribution with missing responses

ABSTRACT

In this article, a finite mixture model of hurdle Poisson distribution with missing outcomes is proposed, and a stochastic EM algorithm is developed for obtaining the maximum likelihood estimates of model parameters and mixing proportions. Specifically, missing data is assumed to be missing not at random (MNAR)/non ignorable missing (NINR) and the corresponding missingness mechanism is modeled through probit regression. To improve the algorithm efficiency, a stochastic step is incorporated into the E-step based on data augmentation, whereas the M-step is solved by the method of conditional maximization. A variation on Bayesian information criterion (BIC) is also proposed to compare models with different number of components with missing values. The considered model is a general model framework and it captures the important characteristics of count data analysis such as zero inflation/deflation, heterogeneity as well as missingness, providing us with more insight into the data feature and allowing for dispersion to be investigated more fully and correctly. Since the stochastic step only involves simulating samples from some standard distributions, the computational burden is alleviated. Once missing responses and latent variables are imputed to replace the conditional expectation, our approach works as part of a multiple imputation procedure. A simulation study and a real example illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of our methodology.