Journal Article
Simple ways to forecast inflation: what works best?
Abstract: There are many ways to forecast the future rate of inflation, ranging from sophisticated statistical models involving hundreds of variables to hunches based on past experience. We generate a number of forecasts using a simple statistical model and an even simpler estimating rule, adding in various measures thought to be helpful in predicting the course of inflation. Then we compare their forecast accuracy. We find that no single specification outperforms all others over all time periods. For example, the median and 16 percent trimmed-mean measures outperform all other specifications during the 1990s, and survey-based inflation expectations seem to do better during volatile periods.
Keywords: Forecasting; Inflation (Finance);
Access Documents
File(s):
File format is text/html
https://doi.org/10.26509/frbc-ec-201017
Description: Full Text
Authors
Bibliographic Information
Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Part of Series: Economic Commentary
Publication Date: 2010
Issue: Dec
Order Number: 17