Bootstrap Unit Root Tests

We consider the bootstrap unit root tests based on autoregressive integrated models, with or without deterministic time trends. A general methodology is developed to approximate asymptotic distributions for the models driven by integrated time series, and used to obtain asymptotic expansions for the Dickey-Fuller unit root tests. The second-order terms in their expansions are of stochastic orders Op($n^{-1/4}$) and Op($n^{-1/2}$), and involve functionals of Brownian motions and normal random variates. The asymptotic expansions for the bootstrap tests are also derived and compared with those of the Dickey-Fuller tests. We show in particular that the usual nonparametric bootstrap offers asymptotic refinements for the Dickey-Fuller tests, i.e., it corrects their second-order errors. More precisely, it is shown that the critical values obtained by the bootstrap resampling are correct up to the second-order terms, and the errors in rejection probabilities are of order o($n^{-1/2}$) if the tests are based upon the bootstrap critical values. Through simulation, we investigate how effective is the bootstrap correction in small samples.

The Spatial Analysis of Time Series

In this paper, we propose a method of analyzing time series, called the spatial analysis. The analysis consists mainly of the statistical inference on the distribution given by the expected local time, which we define to be the spatial distribution, of a given time series. The spatial distribution is introduced primarily for the analysis of nonstationary time series whose distributions change over time. However, it is well defined for both stationary and nonstationary time series, and reduces to the time invariant stationary distribution if the underlying time series is indeed stationary. The spatial analysis may therefore be regarded as an extension of the usual inference on the distribution of a stationary time series to accommodate for nonstationary time series. In fact, we show that the concept of the spatial distribution allows us to extend many notions and ideas built upon the presumption of stationarity and make them applicable also for the analysis of nonstationary data. Our approach is nonparametric, and imposes very mild conditions on the underlying time series. In particular, we allow for the observations generated from a wide class of stochastic processes with stationary and mixing increments, or general markov processes including virtually all diffusion models used in practice. For illustration, we provide some empirical applications of our methodology to various topics such as the risk management, distributional dominance and option pricing.

Time series properties of ARCH processes with persistent covariates

We consider ARCH processes with persistent covariates and provide asymptotic theories that explain how such covariates affect various characteristics of volatility. Specifically, we propose and study a volatility model, named ARCH-NNH model, that is an ARCH(1) process with a nonlinear function of a persistent, integrated or nearly integrated, explanatory variable. Statistical properties of time series given by this model are investigated for various volatility functions. It is shown that our model generates time series that have two prominent characteristics: high degree of volatility persistence and leptokurtosis. Due to persistent covariates, the time series generated by our model has the long memory property in volatility that is commonly observed in high frequency speculative returns. On the other hand, the sample kurtosis of the time series generated by our model either diverges or has a well-defined limiting distribution with support truncated on the left by the kurtosis of the innovation, which successfully explains the empirical finding of leptokurtosis in financial time series. We present two empirical applications of our model. It is shown that the default premium (the yield spread between Baa and Aaa corporate bonds) predicts stock return volatility, and the interest rate differential between two countries accounts for exchange rate return volatility. The forecast evaluation shows that our model generally performs better than GARCH(1,1) and FIGARCH at relatively lower frequencies.ARCH; nonstationarity; nonlinearity; NNH; volatility persistence; leptokurtosis

Nonstationary Nonlinear Heteroskedasticity in Regression

This paper considers the regression with errors having nonstationary nonlinear heteroskedasticity. For both the usual stationary regression and the nonstationary cointegrating regression, we develop the asymptotic theories for the least squares methods in the presence of conditional heterogeneity given as a nonlinear function of an integrated process. In particular, it is shown that the nonstationarity of volatility in the regression errors may induce spuriousness of the underlying regression. This is true for both the usual stationary regression and the nonstationary cointegrating regression, if excessive nonstationary volatility is present in the errors. Mild nonstationary volatilities do not render the underlying regression spurious. However, their presence makes the least squares estimator asymptotically biased and inefficient and the usual chi-square test invalid. In the paper, we develop an unbiased and efficient method of estimation and a chi-square test applicable for the regression with mild nonstationary volatilities in the errors. We provide some illustrations to demonstrate the empirical relevancy of the model and theory developed in the paper. For this purpose, examined are US consumption function, EURO/USD forward-spot spreads and capital-asset pricing models for some major NYSE stocksvolatility, nonstationary nonlinear heteroskedasticity, regression with heteroskedastic errors, spurious regression, cointegration

A Test of the Martingale Hypothesis

This paper proposes a statistical test of the martingale hypothesis. It can be used to test whether a given time series is a martingale process against certain non-martingale alternatives. The class of alternative processes against which our test has power is very general and it encompasses many nonlinear non-martingale processes which may not be detected using traditional spectrum-based or variance-ratio tests. We look at the hypothesis of martingale, in contrast with other existing methods which test for the hypothesis of martingale difference. Two different types of test are considered: one is a generalized Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the other is a Cramer-von Mises type test. For the processes that are first order Markovian in mean, in particular, our approach yields the test statistics that neither depend upon any smoothing parameter nor require any resampling procedure to simulate the null distributions. Their null limiting distributions are nicely characterized as functionals of a continuous stochastic process so that the critical values are easily tabulated. We prove consistency of our tests and further investigate their finite sample properties via simulation. Our tests are found to be rather powerful in moderate size samples against a wide variety of non-martingales including exponential autoregressive, threshold autoregressive, markov switching, chaotic, and some of nonstationary processes.

Nonlinearity, Nonstationarity, and Thick Tails: How They Interact to Generate Persistency in Memory

We consider nonlinear transformations of random walks driven by thick-tailed innovations that may have infinite means or variances. These three nonstandard characteristics: nonlinearity, nonstationarity, and thick tails interact to generate a spectrum of asymptotic autocorrelation patterns consistent with long-memory processes. Such autocorrelations may decay very slowly as the number of lags increases or may not decay at all and remain constant at all lags. Depending upon the type of transformation considered and how the model error is speci- fied, the autocorrelation functions are given by random constants, deterministic functions that decay slowly at hyperbolic rates, or mixtures of the two. Such patterns, along with other sample characteristics of the transformed time series, such as jumps in the sample path, excessive volatility, and leptokurtosis, suggest the possibility that these three ingredients are involved in the data generating processes of many actual economic and financial time series data. In addition to time series characteristics, we explore nonlinear regression asymptotics when the regressor is observable and an alternative regression technique when it is unobservable. To illustrate, we examine two empirical applications: wholesale electricity price spikes driven by capacity shortfalls and exchange rates governed by a target zone.persistency in memory, nonlinear transformations, random walks, thick tails, stable distributions, wholesale electricity prices, target zone exchange rates

Nonstationary Density Estimation and Kernel Autoregression

An asymptotic theory is developed for the kernel density estimate of a random walk and the kernel regression estimator of a nonstationary first order autoregression. The kernel density estimator provides a consistent estimate of the local time spent by the random walk in the spatial vicinity of a point that is determined in part by the argument of the density and in part by initial conditions. The kernel regression estimator is shown to be consistent and to have a mixed normal limit theory. The limit distribution has a mixing variate that is given by the reciprocal of the local time of a standard Brownian motion. The permissible range for the bandwidth parameter h_{n} includes rates which may increase as well as decrease with the sample size n, in contrast to the case of a stationary autoregression. However, the convergence rate of the kernel regression estimator is at most n^{1/4}, and this is slower than that of a stationary kernel autoregression, in contrast to the parametric case. In spite of these differences in the limit theory and the rates of convergence between the stationary and nonstationary cases, it is shown that the usual formulae for confidence intervals for the regression function still apply when h_{n} -> 0.Brownian sheet, kernel regression, local time, martingale embedding, mixture normal, nonstationary density, occupation time, quadratic variation, unit root autoregression

Nonstationary Binary Choice

This paper develops an asymptotic theory for time series binary choice models with nonstationary explanatory variables generated as integrated processes. Both logit and probit models are covered. The maximum likelihood (ML) estimator is consistent but a new phenomenon arises in its limit distribution theory. The estimator consists of a mixture of two components, one of which is parallel to and the other orthogonal to the direction of the true parameter vector, with the latter being the principal component. The ML estimator is shown to converge at a rate of n^{3/4} along its principal component but has the slower rate of n^{1/4} convergence in all other directions. This is the first instance known to the authors of multiple convergence rates in models where the regressors have the same (full rank) stochastic order and where the parameters appear in linear forms of these regressors. It is a consequence of the fact that the estimating equations involve nonlinear integrable transformations of linear forms of integrated processes as well as polynomials in these processes, and the asymptotic behavior of these elements are quite different. The limit distribution of the ML estimator is derived and is shown to be a mixture of two mixed normal distributions with mixing variates that are dependent upon Brownian local time as well as Brownian motion. It is further shown that the sample proportion of binary choices follows an arc sine law and therefore spends most of its time in the neighbourhood of zero or unity. The result has implications for policy decision making that involves binary choices and where the decisions depend on economic fundamentals that involve stochastic trends. Our limit theory shows that, in such conditions, policy is likely to manifest streams of little intervention or intensive intervention.Binary choice model, Brownian motion, Brownian local time, dual convergence rates, Integrated time series, maximum likelihood estimation