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A Note on the (continued) Ability of the Yield Curve to Forecast Economic Downturns in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ferdi Botha
  • Gavin Keeton

Abstract

In 2002/03 the yield spread falsely signalled a downswing that never materialised. This paper provides two reasons for this false signal. Firstly, while the Reserve Bank never actually officially declared the start of a downswing, by other important measures a downswing did actually occur. It is to this slowing in economic activity at that time […]

Suggested Citation

  • Ferdi Botha & Gavin Keeton, 2014. "A Note on the (continued) Ability of the Yield Curve to Forecast Economic Downturns in South Africa," Working Papers 449, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    • Handle: RePEc:rza:wpaper:449
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Johannes W. Fedderke, 2021. "The South African–United States sovereign bond spread and its association with macroeconomic fundamentals," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 89(4), pages 499-525, December.
    2. Johannes W. Fedderke, 2020. "Is the Phillips curve framework still useful for understanding inflation dynamics in South Africa," Working Papers 10142, South African Reserve Bank.
    3. Manqoba Ntshakala & Laurence Harris, 2018. "The information content of the yield spread about future inflation in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-63, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Joseph G. Haubrich, 2021. "Does the Yield Curve Predict Output?," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 341-362, November.
    5. Goodness C. Aye & Christina Christou & Luis A. Gil‐Alana & Rangan Gupta, 2019. "Forecasting the Probability of Recessions in South Africa: the Role of Decomposed Term Spread and Economic Policy Uncertainty," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 101-116, January.
    6. Laurence Harris & Manqoba Ntshakala, 2018. "The information content of the yield spread about future inflation in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 63, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banking Regulation; econometric modelling; Economic crisis; fiscal policy; Macroeconomic Models; South Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects

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