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A reappraisal of the leading indicator properties of the yield curve under structural instability

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  • Schrimpf, Andreas
  • Wang, Qingwei

Abstract

This paper provides an extensive re-examination of the leading indicator properties of the yield curve in four major developed countries (Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States). We study whether the yield spread still qualifies as a useful predictor of real activity in the presence of structural change. Based on tests for multiple structural breaks, we find strong evidence of instability in the relationship between the yield spread and output growth, which allows us to pin down the exact dates associated with these breaks for the different countries. We find that the window selection methods recently developed for forecasting in the presence of structural change generally offer some improvements in terms of forecast accuracy. However, our overall results strongly suggest that the yield curve has been losing its edge as a predictor of output growth in recent years.

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  • Schrimpf, Andreas & Wang, Qingwei, 2010. "A reappraisal of the leading indicator properties of the yield curve under structural instability," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 836-857, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfor:v:26:y::i:4:p:836-857
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    6. Davide De Gaetano, 2018. "Forecast Combinations in the Presence of Structural Breaks: Evidence from U.S. Equity Markets," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-19, March.
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    11. Mönch, Emanuel & Stein, Tobias, 2021. "Equity premium predictability over the business cycle," Discussion Papers 25/2021, Deutsche Bundesbank.
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    14. Rossi, Barbara, 2013. "Advances in Forecasting under Instability," Handbook of Economic Forecasting, in: G. Elliott & C. Granger & A. Timmermann (ed.), Handbook of Economic Forecasting, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1203-1324, Elsevier.
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    17. Richard K. Crump & Stefano Eusepi & Emanuel Moench, 2016. "The term structure of expectations and bond yields," Staff Reports 775, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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    21. Pesaran, M.H. & Pick, A. & Pranovich, M., 2011. "Optimal Forecasts in the Presence of Structural Breaks (Updated 14 November 2011)," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1163, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    22. Zongwu Cai & Gunawan, 2023. "A Combination Forecast for Nonparametric Models with Structural Breaks," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 202310, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Sep 2023.
    23. Daniel Borup & Martin Thyrsgaard, 2017. "Statistical tests for equal predictive ability across multiple forecasting methods," CREATES Research Papers 2017-19, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    24. Daniel Borup & Jonas N. Eriksen & Mads M. Kjær & Martin Thyrsgaard, 2020. "Predicting bond return predictability," CREATES Research Papers 2020-09, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.

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