Estimation in Models of the Instantaneous Short Term Interest Rate By Use of a Dynamic Bayesian Algorithm

Abstract

This paper considers the estimation in models of the instantaneous short interest rate from a new perspective. Rather than using discretely compounded market rates as a proxy for the instantaneous short rate of interest, we set up the stochastic dynamics for the discretely compounded market observed rates and propose a dynamic Bayesian estimation algorithm (i.e. a filtering algorithm) for a time-discretised version of the resulting interest rate dynamics. The filter solution is computed via a further spatial discretization (quantization) and the convergence of the latter to its continuous counterpart is discussed in detail. The method is applied to simulated data and is found to give a reasonable estimate of the conditional density function and to be not too demanding computationally.