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A Measure of Comovement for Economic Variables: Theory and Empirics

TL;DR: In this article, a measure of dynamic comovement between (possibly many) time series and names it cohesion is defined in the frequency domain and is appropriate for processes that are costationary, possibly after suitable transformations.
Abstract: This paper proposes a measure of dynamic comovement between (possibly many) time series and names it cohesion. The measure is defined in the frequency domain and is appropriate for processes that are costationary, possibly after suitable transformations. In the bivariate case, the measure reduces to dynamic correlation and is related, but not equal, to the well known quantities of coherence and coherency. Dynamic correlation on a frequency band equals (static) correlation of bandpass-filtered series. Moreover, long-run correlation and cohesion relate in a simple way to co-integration. Cohesion is useful to study problems of business-cycle synchronization, to investigate short-run and long-run dynamic properties of multiple time series, and to identify dynamic clusters. We use state income data for the United States and GDP data for European nations to provide an empirical illustration that is focused on the geographical aspects of business-cycle fluctuations.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of business cycle synchronization in the European monetary union focuses on two issues: have business cycles become more similar, and which factors drive business cycle synchronisation.
Abstract: This survey of business cycle synchronization in the European monetary union focuses on two issues: have business cycles become more similar, and which factors drive business cycle synchronization. We conclude that business cycles in the euro area have gone through periods of both convergence and divergence. Still, there is quite some evidence that during the 1990s business cycle synchronization in the euro area has increased. Higher trade intensity is found to lead to more synchronization, but the point estimates vary widely. The evidence for other factors affecting business cycle synchronization is very mixed.

342 citations


Cites background or methods from "A Measure of Comovement for Economi..."

  • ...Croux et al. (2001) suggest that for more than two series, one should look at the cohesion of these series, defined as the (weighted) average of the binary dynamic correlation coefficients....

    [...]

  • ...According to Artis and Zhang (1997), business cycles in Europe were more similar after the start of the ERM than before, which they interpret as evidence that monetary integration will enhance business cycle synchronization....

    [...]

  • ...They argue that this is inconsistent with Artis and Zhang’s (1999) view that increased monetary integration, specifically after the creation of the European ERM in 1979, and business cycle synchronization are positively related....

    [...]

  • ...The simplest solution is to compare correlations in two periods, for example, before and after the establishment of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) (Artis and Zhang, 1997, 1999), or for multiple periods as in Inklaar and De Haan (2001)....

    [...]

  • ...measures have been suggested in the literature as well, like the dynamic correlation measure of Croux et al. (2001), the phase-adjusted correlations of Koopman and Azevedo (2003) and the concordance index of Harding and Pagan (2002).13 The dynamic correlation measure of Croux et al. (2001) is…...

    [...]

Posted Content
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the transmission of global financial crisis to business cycles in China and India and found a significant link between trade ties and dynamic correlations of GDP growth rates in emerging Asian countries and OECD countries.
Abstract: We analyze the transmission of global financial crisis to business cycles in China and India. The pattern of business cycles in emerging Asian economies generally displays a low degree of synchronization with the OECD countries, which is consistent with the decoupling hypothesis. By contrast, however, the current financial crisis has had a significant effect on economic developments in emerging Asian economies. Applying dynamic correlations, we find wide differences for different frequencies of cyclical development. More specifically, at business cycle frequencies, dynamic correlations are typically low or negative, but they are also influenced most by the global financial crisis. Finally, we find a significant link between trade ties and dynamic correlations of GDP growth rates in emerging Asian countries and OECD countries.

231 citations


Cites background or methods from "A Measure of Comovement for Economi..."

  • ...An alternative measure of synchronization in the case of business cycles is dynamic correlation, as was proposed by Croux et al. (2001). Consider two stochastic process, x and y, with defined spectral density functions, Sx(λ) and Sy(λ), and a co-spectrum Cxy(λ), which are defined for all frequencies -π ≤ λ≤ π....

    [...]

  • ...An alternative measure of synchronization in the case of business cycles is dynamic correlation, as was proposed by Croux et al. (2001)....

    [...]

  • ...An alternative measure of synchronization in the case of business cycles is dynamic correlation, as was proposed by Croux et al. (2001). Consider two stochastic process, x and y, with defined spectral density functions, Sx(λ) and Sy(λ), and a co-spectrum Cxy(λ), which are defined for all frequencies -π ≤ λ≤ π. Then, the dynamic correlation according to Croux et al. (2001), ρ(λ), is defined as...

    [...]

  • ...Then, the dynamic correlation according to Croux et al. (2001), ρ(λ), is defined as ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )λλ λ λρ yx xy xy SS C = ....

    [...]

  • ...…business cycles in Asian emerging economies BOFIT- Institute for Economies in Transition BOFIT Discussion Papers 11/ 2009 Bank of Finland 17 In particular, the OECD countries usually show high dynamic correlations for business cy- cle frequencies and long-term co-movements (see Croux et al, 2001)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a new measure of comovement resorting to wavelet analysis, which allows one to assess simultaneously the comovements at the frequency level and over time.

220 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: This paper showed that the ability to predict several measures of inflation and real activity declined remarkably, relative to naive forecasts, since the mid-1980s, and this break down in forecast ability appears to be an inherent feature of the most recent period and thus represents a new challenge for competing explanations of the 'Great Moderation'.
Abstract: This paper documents a new stylized fact of the greater macroeconomic stability of the U.S. economy over the last two decades. Using 131 monthly time series, three popular statistical methods and the forecasts of the Federal Reserve's Greenbook and the Survey of Professional Forecasters, we show that the ability to predict several measures of inflation and real activity declined remarkably, relative to naive forecasts, since the mid-1980s. This break down in forecast ability appears to be an inherent feature of the most recent period and thus represents a new challenge for competing explanations of the 'Great Moderation'.

203 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a method for analysing the dynamics of large cross-sections based on a factor analytic model and used the law of large numbers to determine the number of common factors.
Abstract: This paper develops a method for analysing the dynamics of large cross-sections based on a factor analytic model. We use "law of large numbers" arguments to show that the number of common factors can be determined by a principal components method, the economy-wide shocks can be identified by means of simple structural VAR techniques and that the parameters of the unobserved factor model can be estimated consistently by applying OLS equation by equation. We distinguish between a technological and a non-technological shock. Identification is obtained by minimizing the negative realizations of the technology shock. Empirical results on 4-digit industrial output and productivity for the U.S. economy from 1958 to 1986 show that: (1) at least two economy-wide shocks, both having a long-run effect on sectoral output, are needed to explain the common dynamics; (2) although the technological shock accounts for at least 50% of the aggregate dynamics of output, it cannot by itself explain dynamics at business cycle frequencies; (3) sector-specific shocks explain the main bulk of total variance but generate mainly high frequency dynamics; (4) both the technological and the non-technological component of output show a peak for positive sectoral comovements of output at business cycle frequencies; (5) technological shocks are strongly correlated with the growth rates of the investment in machinery and equipment sectors and their inputs. Many interesting questions about cyclical fluctuations and economic growth can be answered only by studying the dynamic behaviour of sectoral variables. When data contain information on time for a large cross-section of sectors, traditional econometric techniques used in the macroeconomic literature such as Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Vector Autoregressive Moving Average (VARMA) models are not appropriate since they require the estimation of too many parameters. This is why new methods which allow for the reduction of the parameter space need to be developed. The objective of this paper is both methodological and descriptive. At the methodological level we develop a simple framework for the dynamic analysis of large cross-sections. The basic model is a dynamic factor analytic model as in Sargent and Sims (1977). The sectoral variables are decomposed into two unobservable components: a common component, driven by macroeconomic shocks, and a purely sectoral component. When

458 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that the lower level of trade between European countries explains most of the observed border effect, and that within-country correlations are substantially larger than cross-country correlation, and these results continue to hold after controlling for exogenous factors such as distance and size.

411 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the block size plays an important role in determining the success of the block bootstrap, and a data-based block size selection procedure is proposed, which would account for lag order uncertainty in resampling.
Abstract: In recent years, several new parametric and nonparametric bootstrap methods have been proposed for time series data. Which of these methods should applied researchers use? We provide evidence that for many applications in time series econometrics parametric methods are more accurate, and we identify directions for future research on improving nonparametric methods. We explicitly address the important but often neglected issue of model selection in bootstrapping. In particular, we emphasize the advantages of the AIC over other lag order selection criteria and the need to account for lag order uncertainty in resampling. We also show that the block size plays an important role in determining the success of the block bootstrap, and we propose a data-based block size selection procedure.

321 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Forni and Reichlin this paper established stylized facts on regional output fluctuations in Europe and the US, and proposed a measure of the potential output target of the future European central bank, estimates the potential variance stabilization of a fiscal federation and constructs a regional map of potential beneficiaries of monetary and fiscal federal policies.

173 citations


"A Measure of Comovement for Economi..." refers background or result in this paper

  • ...An interpretation, also suggested by the results of Forni and Reichlin (2001), is that European nations contain clusters of regions with different degrees of synchronization and that geographical effects are not defined by political boundaries....

    [...]

  • ...(This confirms results found by Forni and Reichlin (2001).)...

    [...]

  • ...First, high cross-correlation neither implies nor is implied by co-integration, common cycles, or common features (Quah, 1993; Forni & Reichlin, 2001)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The nested reduced-rank autoregressive (AR) model is considered in this paper to simplify and provide a more detailed description of the structure of multivariate time series and to reduce the number of parameters in the time series modeling.
Abstract: The nested reduced-rank autoregressive (AR) model is considered in order to simplify and provide a more detailed description of the structure of the multivariate time series and to reduce the number of parameters in the time series modeling. The multivariate AR model is Yt = Σ p j=1 Φ j Y t-j + et , where Yt is m × 1, and the structure of the model considered is such that the rj = rank(Φ j ) are nonincreasing as the lag j increases, so the Φ j have the factorization Φ j = AjBj and range(Aj ) ⊃ range(A j+1). Specification of the coefficient rank structures for such models through the use of canonical correlation analysis between Yk,t = [Y′t, …, Y′t-k ]′ and Y k,t-1 is discussed. A canonical variable transformation that produces simpler structure in the model and explicitly illustrates how different components of the vector series depend on past lagged values to differing degrees is also examined. A Gaussian parameter-estimation procedure is described and asymptotic properties of the Gaussian estim...

164 citations


"A Measure of Comovement for Economi..." refers background in this paper

  • ...However, the traditional way with which the timeseries literature has dealt with measurement of comovements is based on a notion of rank reduction (Ahn & Reinsel, 1988), which has a different meaning....

    [...]