Long Memory and Structural Changes in the Forward Discount: An Empirical Investigation

Many empirical studies find a negative correlation between the returns on the nominal spot exchange rate and the lagged forward discount. This forward discount anomaly implies that the current forward rate is a biased predictor of the future spot rate. A large number of studies in the existing literature try to explain this anomaly, and recent work has tried to explain the anomaly as a statistical artifact based on (1) the long memory behavior of the forward discount; or (2) the existence of structural breaks in the forward discount. In this paper, we evaluate the evidence for long memory and structural change in the forward discount. Our approach is as follows. First, we nonparametrically estimate the long memory parameter for a number of forward discount series without allowing for structural breaks. Second, we test for and estimate a multiple mean break model and then adjust for the structural breaks in the forward discount. Finally, we re-estimate the long memory parameter on the mean-break adjusted data. We show that allowing for structural breaks drastically reduces the persistence of the forward discount. However, after removing the breaks, we still find evidence of stationary long memory in all of the forward discount series. Our results have important implications for understanding the statistical properties of the forward discount, because we confirm not only the presence of long memory behavior in the forward discount but also the importance of structural breaks.Long Memory, Structural Changes, Forward Discount

Macroeconomic Effects of Inflation Targeting Policy in New Zealand

In this paper we analyze macroeconomic effects of inflation targeting policy in New Zealand using Markov switching model with one time permanent break. Our results show that the inflation targeting policy has significantly changed the inflation dynamics in the New Zealand economy. The Markov switching model clearly detects a structural break date that is very close to the actual date of the policy change. The volatility in the inflation rate shows a considerable reduction after the structural break date. Our results also show that the inflation targeting policy led to a structural change in real GDP growth rate. The policy change significantly reduced the volatility of real GDP growth rate after the break date. We find that there is a lag of about one year and six months between the monetary policy change and its actual effect on output growth.

Long Memory versus Structural Breaks in Modeling and Forecasting Realized Volatility

In this paper, we explore the possibilities of structural breaks in the realized volatility with the observed long-memory property for the Deutschemark/Dollar, Yen/Dollar and Yen/Deutschemark spot exchange rate realized volatility. The paper finds the substantial reduction of persistence of realized volatility after removing the breaks. Our VAR-RV-Break model provides the superior predictive ability compared to most of the forecasting models when the future break is known. The VAR-RV-I(d) long memory model, however, is still the best forecasting model even when the true financial volatility series are created by structural breaks with unknown break dates and size

Long Memory and Structural Changes in the Forward Discount: An Empirical Investigation

Long memory, Structural Changes

The start of interest rate smoothing in the US: is it a monetary or fiscal story?

This article revisits the key issue raised by researchers who have empirically investigated the behaviour of short term US interest rates during the period 1890-1933. The seminal article of Mankiw, Miron and Weil (1987) argues that changes in the behaviour of nominal interest rates is best explained as a monetary regime shift that occurred with the founding of the Federal reserve in 1914. This explanation is rejected by Newbold, Lehybourne, Sollis and Wohar (2001) who show that fiscal and regulatory changes (driven by the needs of World War1 financing) best explain the changing behaviour of interest rates that they identify as beginning in mid-1917. We find, using three different statistical procedures that a structural break in the second moment of interest rates occurred in early 1915. This supports the monetary regime shift argument of MMW by illustrating that the interest rate smoothing policies of the FED can be observed as a variance break in short term interest rates.

Revisiting structural change and market integration in late 19th century American capital markets

This article draws on a variety of time series tools to more deeply explore issues surrounding the emergence of a national capital market in the late 19th century. Our focus is on the timing of the emergence of a national capital market. Rather than relying on the absolute narrowing of regional interest rate differentials, which is a common approach in this literature, we use Gregory and Hansen cointegration tests, which allow us not only to test for cointegrating relations in the interest rate series but to identify unknown structural change dates as a byproduct. We also use dynamic conditional correlations to determine the dates at which regional interest rate correlations began increasing. Our results suggest that structural changes are centred around the year 1900, which is consistent with Sylla's argument that the lowering of capital requirements by the Gold Standard Act of 1900 increased bank entry and competition and facilitated regional capital market convergence.