When is a Time Series I(0)?

Abstract

This paper surveys the extensive recent literature on the problems of deciding what is meant by an I(0) process, and then deciding how to test for the property. A formidable difficulty exists in the construction of consistent and asymptotically correctly sized tests for the I(0) hypothesis, and this may appear to place a question mark over the validity of a large area of econometric theory and practice. To overcome these difficulties in practical applications, the paper proposes that a slightly different question needs to be posed, relating to the adequacy of approximation to asymptotic inference criteria in finite samples. A simulation-based test, aimed at discriminating between data sets on this basis, is examined in a Monte Carlo experiment.