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Nowcasting with Large Bayesian Vector Autoregressions

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  • Cimadomo, Jacopo
  • Giannone, Domenico
  • Lenza, Michele
  • Monti, Francesca
  • Sokol, Andrej

Abstract

Monitoring economic conditions in real time, or nowcasting, and Big Data analytics share some challenges, sometimes called the three "Vs". Indeed, nowcasting is characterized by the use of a large number of time series (Volume), the complexity of the data covering various sectors of the economy, with different frequencies and precision and asynchronous release dates (Variety), and the need to incorporate new information continuously and in a timely manner (Velocity). In this paper, we explore three alternative routes to nowcasting with Bayesian Vector Autoregressive (BVAR) models and find that they can effectively handle the three Vs by producing, in real time, accurate probabilistic predictions of US economic activity and a meaningful narrative by means of scenario analysis.

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  • Cimadomo, Jacopo & Giannone, Domenico & Lenza, Michele & Monti, Francesca & Sokol, Andrej, 2021. "Nowcasting with Large Bayesian Vector Autoregressions," CEPR Discussion Papers 15854, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15854
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    3. Martin Feldkircher & Florian Huber & Michael Pfarrhofer, 2021. "Measuring the effectiveness of US monetary policy during the COVID‐19 recession," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(3), pages 287-297, July.
    4. Boriss Siliverstovs, 2021. "New York FED Staff Nowcasts and Reality: What Can We Learn about the Future, the Present, and the Past?," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, March.
    5. Hasenzagl, Thomas & Pellegrino, Filippo & Reichlin, Lucrezia & Ricco, Giovanni, 2022. "Monitoring the Economy in Real Time: Trends and Gaps in Real Activity and Prices," CEPR Discussion Papers 17111, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Daniel Hopp, 2022. "Performance of long short-term memory artificial neural networks in nowcasting during the COVID-19 crisis," Papers 2203.11872, arXiv.org.
    7. Saiz, Lorena & Ashwin, Julian & Kalamara, Eleni, 2021. "Nowcasting euro area GDP with news sentiment: a tale of two crises," Working Paper Series 2616, European Central Bank.
    8. Sokol, Andrej, 2021. "Fan charts 2.0: flexible forecast distributions with expert judgement," Working Paper Series 2624, European Central Bank.
    9. Boriss Siliverstovs, 2021. "Gauging the Effect of Influential Observations on Measures of Relative Forecast Accuracy in a Post-COVID-19 Era: Application to Nowcasting Euro Area GDP Growth," Working Papers 2021/01, Latvijas Banka.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Big Data; business cycles; Mixed frequency; Nowcasting; Real time; Scenario analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C01 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Econometrics
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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