Search Results
Working Paper
Robust inference in linear asset pricing models
We derive new results on the asymptotic behavior of the estimated parameters of a linear asset pricing model and their associated t-statistics in the presence of a factor that is independent of the returns. The inclusion of this "useless" factor in the model leads to a violation of the full rank (identification) condition and renders the inference nonstandard. We show that the estimated parameter associated with the useless factor diverges with the sample size but the misspecification-robust t-statistic is still well-behaved and has a standard normal limiting distribution. The asymptotic ...
Working Paper
Forecasts of inflation and interest rates in no-arbitrage affine models
In this paper, we examine the forecasting ability of an affine term structure framework that jointly models the markets for Treasuries, inflation-protected securities, inflation derivatives, and oil future prices based on no-arbitrage restrictions across these markets. On the methodological side, we propose a novel way of incorporating information from these markets into an affine model. On the empirical side, two main findings emerge from our analysis. First, incorporating information from inflation options can often produce more accurate inflation forecasts than those based on the Survey of ...
Working Paper
Foreign exchange predictability during the financial crisis: implications for carry trade profitability
In this paper, we study the effectiveness of carry trade strategies during and after the financial crisis using a flexible approach to modeling currency returns. We decompose the currency returns into multiplicative sign and absolute return components, which exhibit much greater predictability than raw returns. We allow the two components to respond to currency-specific risk factors and use the joint conditional distribution of these components to obtain forecasts of future carry trade returns. Our results suggest that the decomposition model produces higher forecast and directional accuracy ...
Working Paper
Monetary policy surprises, positions of traders, and changes in commodity futures prices
Using futures data for the period 1990?2008, this paper finds evidence that expansionary monetary policy surprises tend to increase crude and heating oil prices, and contractionary monetary policy shocks increase gold and platinum prices. Our analysis uncovers substantial heterogeneity in the magnitude of this response to positive and negative surprises across different commodities and commodity groups. The results also suggest that the positions of futures traders for the metals and energy commodities strongly respond to monetary policy shocks. The adjustment of the net long positions of ...
Report
A Simple Diagnostic for Time-Series and Panel-Data Regressions
We introduce a new regression diagnostic, tailored to time-series and panel-data regressions, which characterizes the sensitivity of the OLS estimate to distinct time-series variation at different frequencies. The diagnostic is built on the novel result that the eigenvectors of a random walk asymptotically orthogonalize a wide variety of time-series processes. Our diagnostic is based on leave-one-out OLS estimation on transformed variables using these eigenvectors. We illustrate how our diagnostic allows applied researchers to scrutinize regression results and probe for underlying fragility ...
Working Paper
Asymptotic variance approximations for invariant estimators in uncertain asset-pricing models
This paper derives explicit expressions for the asymptotic variances of the maximum likelihood and continuously updated GMM estimators under potentially misspecified models. The proposed misspecification-robust variance estimators allow the researcher to conduct valid inference on the model parameters even when the model is rejected by the data. Although the results for the maximum likelihood estimator are only applicable to linear asset-pricing models, the asymptotic distribution of the continuously updated GMM estimator is derived for general, possibly nonlinear, models. The large ...
Discussion Paper
The Persistent Compression of the Breakeven Inflation Curve
Breakeven inflation, defined as the difference in the yield of a nominal Treasury security and a Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) of the same maturity, is closely watched by market participants and policymakers alike. Breakeven inflation rates provide a signal about the expected path of inflation as perceived by market participants although they are also affected by risk and liquidity premia. In this post, we scrutinize the dynamics of breakeven inflation, highlighting some intriguing behavior which has persisted for a number of years and even through the pandemic. In particular, ...
Working Paper
Misspecification-robust inference in linear asset pricing models with irrelevant risk factors
We show that in misspecified models with useless factors (for example, factors that are independent of the returns on the test assets), the standard inference procedures tend to erroneously conclude, with high probability, that these irrelevant factors are priced and the restrictions of the model hold. Our proposed model selection procedure, which is robust to useless factors and potential model misspecification, restores the standard inference and proves to be effective in eliminating factors that do not improve the model's pricing ability. The practical relevance of our analysis is ...
Working Paper
Spurious Inference in Unidentified Asset-Pricing Models
This paper studies some seemingly anomalous results that arise in possibly misspecified and unidentified linear asset-pricing models estimated by maximum likelihood and one-step generalized method of moments (GMM). Strikingly, when useless factors (that is, factors that are independent of the returns on the test assets) are present, the models exhibit perfect fit, as measured by the squared correlation between the model's fitted expected returns and the average realized returns, and the tests for correct model specification have asymptotic power that is equal to the nominal size. In other ...
Working Paper
Minimum distance estimation of possibly non-invertible moving average models
This paper considers estimation of moving average (MA) models with non-Gaussian errors. Information in higher-order cumulants allows identification of the parameters without imposing invertibility. By allowing for an unbounded parameter space, the generalized method of moments estimator of the MA(1) model has classical (root-T and asymptotic normal) properties when the moving average root is inside, outside, and on the unit circle. For more general models where the dependence of the cumulants on the model parameters is analytically intractable, we consider simulation-based estimators with two ...