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How to advance theory with structural VARs: use the Sims-Cogley-Nason approach

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Patrick J. Kehoe

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Abstract

The common approach to evaluating a model in the structural VAR literature is to compare the impulse responses from structural VARs run on the data to the theoretical impulse responses from the model. The Sims-Cogley-Nason approach instead compares the structural VARs run on the data to identical structural VARs run on data from the model of the same length as the actual data. Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan (2006) argue that the inappropriate comparison made by the common approach is the root of the problems in the SVAR literature. In practice, the problems can be solved simply. Switching from the common approach to the Sims-Cogley-Nason approach basically involves changing a few lines of computer code and a few lines of text. This switch will vastly increase the value of the structural VAR literature for economic theory.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in its series Staff Report with number 379.

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Date of creation: 2006
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Publication status: Published in NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2006
Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmsr:379

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Keywords: Econometrics;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Karel Mertens & Morten O. Ravn, 2008. "The Aggregate Effects of Anticipated and Unanticipated U.S. Tax Policy Shocks: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Economics Working Papers ECO2008/05, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Rochelle M. Edge & Thomas Laubach & John C. Williams, 3008. "Welfare-Maximizing Monetary Policy Under Parameter Uncertainty," CAMA Working Papers 2008-16, Australian National University, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Keith Kuester & Gernot J. Müller & Sarah Stölting, 2007. "Is the New Keynesian Phillips curve flat?," Working Paper Series 809, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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