Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/23206 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2003
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 03-8
Publisher: 
University of California, Department of Economics, Davis, CA
Abstract: 
This paper introduces methods for computing impulse response functions that do not require specification and estimation of the unknown dynamic multivariate system itself. The central idea behind these methods is to estimate flexible local projections at each period of interest rather than extrapolating into increasingly distant horizons from a given model, as it is usually done in vector autoregressions (VAR). The advantages of local projections are numerous: (1) they can be estimated by simple regression techniques with standard regression packages; (2) they are more robust to misspecification; (3) standard error calculation is direct; and (4) they easily accommodate experimentation with highly non-linear and flexible specifications that may be impractical in a multivariate context. Therefore, these methods are a natural alternative to estimating impulse responses from VARs. An application to a simple, closed-economy monetary model suggests that the output loss and inflation effects of an interest rate shock depend on the stage of the business cycle.
Subjects: 
impulse response function
local projection
vector autoregression
nonlinear
JEL: 
C32
E47
C53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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