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The term structure, leading indicators, and recessions: evidence from Switzerland, 1974–2017

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  • Rebecca Stuart

    (Central Bank of Ireland)

Abstract

This paper studies the predictive power for recessions of the slope of the Swiss term structure using monthly data for 1974–2017. Dynamic probit models indicate that the term structure contains information useful for predicting recessions for horizons up to 19 months. Whether the economy is currently in recession or not is also useful for forecasting recessions. These relationships prove stable over the sample. Robustness tests indicate that the KOF business course indicator and some monetary aggregates contain different information from the term structure which can improve the in- and out-of-sample fit of the model.

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  • Rebecca Stuart, 2020. "The term structure, leading indicators, and recessions: evidence from Switzerland, 1974–2017," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 156(1), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sjecst:v:156:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1186_s41937-019-0044-4
    DOI: 10.1186/s41937-019-0044-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marc Burri & Daniel Kaufmann, 2020. "A daily fever curve for the Swiss economy," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 156(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Rebecca Stuart, 2020. "Monetary regimes, the term structure and business cycles in Ireland, 1972–2018," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(5), pages 731-748, September.
    3. Oleksandr Castello & Marina Resta, 2022. "Modeling the Yield Curve of BRICS Countries: Parametric vs. Machine Learning Techniques," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Wegmüller, Philipp & Glocker, Christian & Guggia, Valentino, 2023. "Weekly economic activity: Measurement and informational content," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 228-243.

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