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Advances in nowcasting economic activity: The role of heterogeneous dynamics and fat tails

Author

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  • Antolín-Díaz, Juan
  • Drechsel, Thomas
  • Petrella, Ivan

Abstract

A key question for households, firms, and policy makers is: how is the economy doing now? This paper develops a Bayesian dynamic factor model that allows for nonlinearities, heterogeneous lead–lag patterns and fat tails in macroeconomic data. Explicitly modeling these features changes the way that different indicators contribute to the real-time assessment of the state of the economy, and substantially improves the out-of-sample performance of this class of models. In a formal evaluation, our nowcasting framework beats benchmark econometric models and professional forecasters at predicting US GDP growth in real time.

Suggested Citation

  • Antolín-Díaz, Juan & Drechsel, Thomas & Petrella, Ivan, 2024. "Advances in nowcasting economic activity: The role of heterogeneous dynamics and fat tails," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 238(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:econom:v:238:y:2024:i:2:s0304407623003500
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconom.2023.105634
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    Keywords

    Nowcasting; Dynamic factor models; Real-time data; Bayesian methods; Fat tails;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts

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