We consider conditions for strict stationarity and ergodicity of a class of multivariate BEKK processes $(X_t : t=1,2,\ldots )$ and study the tail behavior of the associated stationary distributions. Specifically, we consider a class of BEKK-ARCH processes where the innovations are assumed to be Gaussian and a finite number of lagged $X_t$ ’s may load into the conditional covariance matrix of $X_t$ . By exploiting that the processes have multivariate stochastic recurrence equation representations, we show the existence of strictly stationary solutions under mild conditions, where only a fractional moment of $X_t$ may be finite. Moreover, we show that each component of the BEKK processes is regularly varying with some tail index. In general, the tail index differs along the components, which contrasts with most of the existing literature on the tail behavior of multivariate GARCH processes. Lastly, in an empirical illustration of our theoretical results, we quantify the model-implied tail index of the daily returns on two cryptocurrencies.

We propose a sequential monitoring scheme to find structural breaks in dynamic linear models. The monitoring scheme is based on a detector and a suitably chosen boundary function. If the detector crosses the boundary function, a structural break is detected. We provide the asymptotics for the procedure under the null hypothesis of stability. The consistency of the procedure is also proved. We derive the asymptotic distribution of the stopping time under the change point alternative. Monte Carlo simulation is used to show the size and the power of our method under several conditions. As an example, we study the real estate markets in Boston and Los Angeles, and at the national U.S. level. We find structural breaks in the markets, and we segment the data into stationary segments. It is observed that the autoregressive parameter is increasing but stays below 1.

This study examines identification and estimation in a correlated random coefficients (CRC) model with an unknown transformation of the dependent variable, namely $\lambda \left (Y^{*}\right)=B_{0}+X^{\prime }B$, where the latent outcome $Y^{*}$ may be subject to a certain kind of censoring mechanism, $\lambda (\cdot)$ is an unknown, one-to-one monotone function, and the random coefficients $\left (B_{0},B\right)$ are allowed to be correlated with one or several components of X. Under a conditional median independence plus a conditional median zero restriction, the mean of B is shown to be identified up to scale. Moreover, we show the derivative of the median structural function (MSF) is point identified. This derivative of MSF resembles the marginal treatment effect introduced by Heckman and Vytlacil (2005, Econometrica 73, 669–738).

It generalizes the usual average treatment effect in a linear CRC model and coincides with $E(B)$ when $\lambda $ is equal to the identity function; it is invariant to both location and scale normalization on the coefficients. We develop estimators for the identified parameters and derive asymptotic properties for the derivative of MSF. An empirical example using the U.K. Family Expenditure Survey is provided.

The Hodrick–Prescott (HP) filter has been a popular method of trend extraction from economic time series. However, it is impractical without modification if some observations are not available. This paper improves the HP filter so that it can be applied in such situations. More precisely, this paper introduces two alternative generalized HP filters that are applicable for this purpose. We provide their properties and a way of specifying those smoothing parameters that are required for their application. In addition, we numerically examine their performance. Finally, based on our analysis, we recommend one of them for applied studies.

We develop the first nonparametric significance test for regression models with classical measurement error in the regressors. In particular, a Cramér-von Mises test and a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for the null hypothesis $E\left [Y|X^{*},Z^{*}\right ]=E\left [Y|X^{*}\right ]$ are proposed when only noisy measurements of $X^{*}$ and $Z^{*}$ are available. The asymptotic null distributions of the test statistics are derived, and a bootstrap method is implemented to obtain the critical values. Despite the test statistics being constructed using deconvolution estimators, we show that the test can detect a sequence of local alternatives converging to the null at the $\sqrt {n}$ -rate. We also highlight the finite sample performance of the test through a Monte Carlo study.

For an $N \times T$ random matrix $X(\beta )$ with weakly dependent uniformly sub-Gaussian entries $x_{it}(\beta )$ that may depend on a possibly infinite-dimensional parameter $\beta \in \mathbf {B}$ , we obtain a uniform bound on its operator norm of the form $\mathbb {E} \sup _{\beta \in \mathbf {B}} ||X(\beta )|| \leq CK \left (\sqrt {\max (N,T)} + \gamma _2(\mathbf {B},d_{\mathbf {B}})\right )$ , where C is an absolute constant, K controls the tail behavior of (the increments of) $x_{it}(\cdot )$ , and $\gamma _2(\mathbf {B},d_{\mathbf {B}})$ is Talagrand’s functional, a measure of multiscale complexity of the metric space $(\mathbf {B},d_{\mathbf {B}})$ . We illustrate how this result may be used for estimation that seeks to minimize the operator norm of moment conditions as well as for estimation of the maximal number of factors with functional data.

We use identification robust tests to show that difference (Dif), level (Lev), and nonlinear (NL) moment conditions, as proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991, Review of Economic Studies 58, 277–297), Ahn and Schmidt (1995, Journal of Econometrics 68, 5–27), Arellano and Bover (1995, Journal of Econometrics 68, 29–51), and Blundell and Bond (1998, Journal of Econometrics 87, 115–143) for the linear dynamic panel data model, do not separately identify the autoregressive parameter when its true value is close to one and the variance of the initial observations is large. We prove that combinations of these moment conditions, however, do so when there are more than three time series observations. This identification then solely results from a set of, so-called, robust moment conditions. These robust moments are spanned by the combined Dif, Lev, and NL moment conditions and only depend on differenced data. We show that, when only the robust moments contain identifying information on the autoregressive parameter, the discriminatory power of the Kleibergen (2005, Econometrica 73, 1103–1124) Lagrange multiplier (KLM) test using the combined moments is identical to the largest rejection frequencies that can be obtained from solely using the robust moments. This shows that the KLM test implicitly uses the robust moments when only they contain information on the autoregressive parameter.

This paper considers the estimation of dynamic causal effects using a proxy structural vector-autoregressive model with possibly nonstationary regressors. We provide general conditions under which the asymptotic normal approximation remains valid. In this case, the asymptotic variance depends on the persistence property of each series. We further provide a consistent asymptotic covariance matrix estimator that requires neither knowledge of the presistence properties of the variables nor pretests for nonstationarity. The proposed consistent covariance matrix estimator is robust and is easy to implement in practice. When all regressors are indeed stationary, the method becomes the same as the standard procedure.

Under the classical long-span asymptotic framework, we develop a class of generalized laplace (GL) inference methods for the change-point dates in a linear time series regression model with multiple structural changes analyzed in, e.g., Bai and Perron (1998, Econometrica 66, 47–78). The GL estimator is defined by an integration rather than optimization-based method and relies on the LS criterion function. It is interpreted as a classical (non-Bayesian) estimator, and the inference methods proposed retain a frequentist interpretation. This approach provides a better approximation about the uncertainty in the data of the change-points relative to existing methods. On the theoretical side, depending on some input (smoothing) parameter, the class of GL estimators exhibits a dual limiting distribution, namely the classical shrinkage asymptotic distribution or a Bayes-type asymptotic distribution. We propose an inference method based on highest density regions using the latter distribution. We show that it has attractive theoretical properties not shared by the other popular alternatives, i.e., it is bet-proof. Simulations confirm that these theoretical properties translate to good finite-sample performance.

This paper shows that if the errors in a multiple regression model are heavy-tailed, the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimators for the regression coefficients are tail-dependent. The tail dependence arises, because the OLS estimators are stochastic linear combinations of heavy-tailed random variables. Moreover, tail dependence also exists between the fitted sum of squares (FSS) and the residual sum of squares (RSS), because they are stochastic quadratic combinations of heavy-tailed random variables.

Researchers often trim observations with small values of the denominator A when they estimate moments of the form $\mathbb {E}[B/A]$ . Large trimming is common in practice to reduce variance, but it incurs a large bias. This paper provides a novel method of correcting the large trimming bias. If a researcher is willing to assume that the joint distribution between A and B is smooth, then the trimming bias may be estimated well. Along with the proposed bias correction method, we also develop an inference method. Practical advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated through simulation studies, where the data generating process entails a heavy-tailed distribution of $B/A$ . Applying the proposed method to the Compustat database, we analyze the history of external financial dependence of U.S. manufacturing firms for years 2000–2010.

The weighted average quantile derivative (AQD) is the expected value of the partial derivative of the conditional quantile function (CQF) weighted by a function of the covariates. We consider two weighting functions: a known function chosen by researchers and the density function of the covariates that is parallel to the average mean derivative in Powell, Stock, and Stoker (1989, Econometrica 57, 1403–1430). The AQD summarizes the marginal response of the covariates on the CQF and defines a nonparametric quantile regression coefficient. In semiparametric single-index and partially linear models, the AQD identifies the coefficients up to scale. In nonparametric nonseparable structural models, the AQD conveys an average structural effect under certain independence assumptions. Including a stochastic trimming function, the proposed two-step estimator is root-n-consistent for the AQD defined by the entire support of the covariates. To facilitate tractable asymptotic analysis, a key preliminary result is a new Bahadur-type linear representation of the generalized inverse kernel-based CQF estimator uniformly over the covariates in an expanding compact set and over the quantile levels. The weak convergence to Gaussian processes applies to the differentiable nonlinear functionals of the quantile processes.

The inverse of a noncentral Wishart matrix occurs in a variety of contexts in multivariate statistical work, including instrumental variable (IV) regression, but there has been very little work on its properties. In this paper, we first provide an expression for the expectation of the inverse of a noncentral Wishart matrix, and then go on to do the same for a number of scalar-valued functions of the inverse. The main result is obtained by exploiting simple but powerful group-equivariance properties of the expectation map involved. Subsequent results exploit the consequences of other invariance properties.

In this paper, we propose two bootstrap procedures, namely parametric and block bootstrap, to approximate the finite sample distribution of change-point estimators for piecewise stationary time series. The bootstrap procedures are then used to develop a generalized likelihood ratio scan method (GLRSM) for multiple change-point inference in piecewise stationary time series, which estimates the number and locations of change-points and provides a confidence interval for each change-point. The computational complexity of using GLRSM for multiple change-point detection is as low as $O(n(\log n)^{3})$ for a series of length n. Extensive simulation studies are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology under different scenarios. Applications to financial time series are also illustrated.

This paper provides a systematic approach to semiparametric identification that is based on statistical information as a measure of its “quality.” Identification can be regular or irregular, depending on whether the Fisher information for the parameter is positive or zero, respectively. I first characterize these cases in models with densities linear in an infinite-dimensional parameter. I then introduce a novel “generalized Fisher information.” If positive, it implies (possibly irregular) identification when other conditions hold. If zero, it implies impossibility results on rates of estimation. Three examples illustrate the applicability of the general results. First, I consider the canonical example of average densities. Second, I show irregular identification of the median willingness to pay in contingent valuation studies. Finally, I study identification of the discount factor and average measures of risk aversion in a nonparametric Euler equation with nonparametric measurement error in consumption.

The paper examines the effect of conditional heteroskedasticity on least squares inference in stochastic regression models of unknown integration order and proposes an inference procedure that is robust to models within the (near) I(0)–(near) I(1) range with GARCH innovations. We show that a regressor signal of exact order $O_{p}\left ( n\kappa _{n}\right ) $ for arbitrary $\,\kappa _{n}\rightarrow \infty $ is sufficient to eliminate stationary GARCH effects from the limit distributions of least squares based estimators and self-normalized test statistics. The above order dominates the $O_{p}\left ( n\right ) $ signal of stationary regressors but may be dominated by the $O_{p}\left ( n^{2}\right ) $ signal of I(1) regressors, thereby showing that least squares invariance to GARCH effects is not an exclusively I(1) phenomenon but extends to processes with persistence degree arbitrarily close to stationarity. The theory validates standard inference for self normalized test statistics based on the ordinary least squares estimator when $\kappa _{n}\rightarrow \infty $ and $\kappa _{n}/n\rightarrow 0$ and the IVX estimator (Phillips and Magdalinos (2009a), Econometric Inference in the Vicinity of Unity. Working paper, Singapore Management University; Kostakis, Magdalinos, and Stamatogiannis, 2015a, Review of Financial Studies 28(5), 1506–1553.) when $\kappa _{n}\rightarrow \infty $ and the innovation sequence of the system is a covariance stationary vec-GARCH process. An adjusted version of the IVX–Wald test is shown to also accommodate GARCH effects in purely stationary regressors, thereby extending the procedure’s validity over the entire (near) I(0)–(near) I(1) range of regressors under conditional heteroskedasticity in the innovations. It is hoped that the wide range of applicability of this adjusted IVX–Wald test, established in Theorem 4.4, presents an advantage for the procedure’s suitability as a tool for applied research.

This paper derives the limit distribution of the rescaled sum of the absolute value of an integrated process with continuously distributed innovations raised to a negative power less than $-$ 1, and of the analogous statistic that is obtained using the same function of an integrated process but only considering positive values of the integrated process. We show that the limit behavior of this statistic is determined by the values of the integrated process that are closest to 0, and find the limit behavior of the values of the integrated process that are closest to 0.

Deviations of asset prices from the random walk dynamic imply the predictability of asset returns and thus have important implications for portfolio construction and risk management. This paper proposes a real-time monitoring device for such deviations using intraday high-frequency data. The proposed procedures are based on unit root tests with in-fill asymptotics but extended to take the empirical features of high-frequency financial data (particularly jumps) into consideration. We derive the limiting distributions of the tests under both the null hypothesis of a random walk with jumps and the alternative of mean reversion/explosiveness with jumps. The limiting results show that ignoring the presence of jumps could potentially lead to severe size distortions of both the standard left-sided (against mean reversion) and right-sided (against explosiveness) unit root tests. The simulation results reveal satisfactory performance of the proposed tests even with data from a relatively short time span. As an illustration, we apply the procedure to the Nasdaq composite index at the 10-minute frequency over two periods: around the peak of the dot-com bubble and during the 2015–2106 stock market sell-off. We find strong evidence of explosiveness in asset prices in late 1999 and mean reversion in late 2015. We also show that accounting for jumps when testing the random walk hypothesis on intraday data is empirically relevant and that ignoring jumps can lead to different conclusions.