Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/97354 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 714
Publisher: 
Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance, London
Abstract: 
We confirm that standard time-series models for US output growth, inflation, interest rates and stock market returns feature non-Gaussian error structure. We build a 4-variable VAR model where the orthogonolised shocks have a Student t-distribution with a time-varying variance. We find that in terms of in-sample fit, the VAR model that features both stochastic volatility and Student-t disturbances outperforms restricted alternatives that feature either attributes. The VAR model with Student-t disturbances results in density forecasts for industrial production and stock returns that are superior to alternatives that assume Gaussianity. This difference appears to be especially stark over the recent financial crisis.
Subjects: 
Bayesian VAR
Fat tails
Stochastic volatility
JEL: 
C32
C53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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