Structural modeling and forecasting using a cluster of dynamic factor models

We propose a modeling approach involving a series of small-scale dynamic factor models. They are connected to each other within a cluster, whose linkages are derived from Granger-causality tests. This approach merges the benefits of large-scale macroeconomic and small-scale factor models, rendering our Cluster of Dynamic Factor Models (CDFM) useful for model-consistent nowcasting and forecasting on a larger scale. While the CDFM has a simple structure and is easy to replicate, its forecasts are more precise than those of a wide range of competing models and those of professional forecasters. Moreover, the CDFM allows forecasters to introduce their own judgment and hence produce conditional forecasts.