Beating the VAR: Improving Swedish GDP Forecasts Using Error and Intercept Corrections

This paper examines the forecast accuracy of an unrestricted vector autoregressive (VAR) model for GDP, relative to a comparable vector error correction model (VECM) that recognizes that the data are characterized by co‐integration. In addition, an alternative forecast method, intercept correction, is considered for further comparison. Recursive out‐of‐sample forecasts are generated for both models and forecast techniques. The generated forecasts for each model are objectively evaluated by a selection of evaluation measures and equal accuracy tests. The result shows that the VECM consistently outperforms the VAR models. Further, intercept correction enhances the forecast accuracy when applied to the VECM, whereas there is no such indication when applied to the VAR model. For certain forecast horizons there is a significant difference in forecast ability between the intercept corrected VECM compared to the VAR model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

成都市温江区经济发展趋势分析与预测

依据客观历史统计数据,对成都市温江区经济发展过程中的各主要经济指标及其相关的重要因素进行研究,建立了这些主要经济指标与相关重要因素之间的线性或非线性的关联,得到了相应的预测结果:在未来数年内,温江区GDP仍将快速攀升,固定资产投资规模迅速扩大,工业经济效益明显增加,农业总产值与农民人均纯收入增幅显著,财政总收入与第三产业产值稳步提升。指出温江区应继续妥善贯彻“强二、优一、兴三”的产业政策,推动全区经济快速、有序发展和社会的全面进步。     

运用AHP-FUZZY法判定岩质边坡稳定性

在综合分析岩质边坡稳定性评价因素的基础上,对岩质边坡稳定性影响因素进行系统分类,提出一种岩质边坡稳定性预测评价的方法,即系统决策和模糊数学相结合的层次分析-模糊综合评价法(AHP-FUZZ-Y).该方法考虑了影响岩质边坡稳定性的多种因素,并对各种因素的重要性进行分析,给出不同的影响程度权值,从而避免单一判据和主观臆断所带来的局限性.     

系统非线性组合预测方法及在黄河凌汛预测中应用

为了提高预测的精度,尤其是冰凌中长期预测的精度,基于工程模糊集、人工神经网络、遗传算法与组合预测理论,提出了系统非线性组合预测方法,给出了黄河内蒙段冰凌三种单一预测模型的非线性组合预测值．结果表明,所建立的非线性组合预测方法物理意义明确,数学推导过程严谨,预测精度高于任意单一预测模型．     

周期性需求下多级库存缺货控制模型研究

从一个以区域分销中心(DC)为主导地位且由多个供应商与零售商共同组成的多级库存系统出发,系统在假设DC和零售商都实行连续性盘点的(R,Q)库存控制策略,提前期为常量,零售商需求为正态分布的前提下,采用缺货策略的思想来确定订货临界点及订货批量.并且以确定DC的库存策略为目标,建立了缺货条件下的多级库存控制模型,从而达到有效控制库存的目的.最后,给出了一个算例,说明了该库存控制模型的可行度.     

分形理论在吉林西部干旱指数预测中的应用

干旱指数反映了气候的干旱程度,干旱指数的年际变化能够体现一个地区气候的演变.吉林西部降水不足,蒸发量大,干旱程度逐渐加剧.应用分形理论,首先进行了吉林西部1951-2003年共53 a干旱指数的R/ S分析,计算出Hurst系数,结果表明吉林西部的干旱指数在时间序列上具有显著的自相似性.在此基础上,应用连续变维分形模型预测了2004-2023年的干旱指数,结果表明该区气候将继续向干旱的趋势发展.     

Correcting the January optimism effect

Each month, various professional forecasters give forecasts for next year's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and unemployment. January is a special month, when the forecast horizon moves to the following calendar year. Instead of deleting the January data when analyzing forecast updates, I propose a periodic version of a test regression for weak-form efficiency. An application of this periodic model for many forecasts across a range of countries shows that in January GDP forecast updates are positive, whereas the forecast updates for unemployment are negative. I document that this January optimism about the new calendar year is detrimental to forecast accuracy. To empirically analyze Okun's law, I also propose a periodic test regression, and its application provides more support for this law.     

Forecasting the duration of short‐term deflation episodes

The paper proposes a simulation‐based approach to multistep probabilistic forecasting, applied for predicting the probability and duration of negative inflation. The essence of this approach is in counting runs simulated from a multivariate distribution representing the probabilistic forecasts, which enters the negative inflation regime. The marginal distributions of forecasts are estimated using the series of past forecast errors, and the joint distribution is obtained by a multivariate copula approach. This technique is applied for estimating the probability of negative inflation in China and its expected duration, with the marginal distributions computed by fitting weighted skew‐normal and two‐piece normal distributions to autoregressive moving average ex post forecast errors and using the multivariate Student t copula.     

Does a lot help a lot? Forecasting stock returns with pooling strategies in a data‐rich environment

A variety of recent studies provide a skeptical view on the predictability of stock returns. Empirical evidence shows that most prediction models suffer from a loss of information, model uncertainty, and structural instability by relying on low‐dimensional information sets. In this study, we evaluate the predictive ability of various lately refined forecasting strategies, which handle these issues by incorporating information from many potential predictor variables simultaneously. We investigate whether forecasting strategies that (i) combine information and (ii) combine individual forecasts are useful to predict US stock returns, that is, the market excess return, size, value, and the momentum premium. Our results show that methods combining information have remarkable in‐sample predictive ability. However, the out‐of‐sample performance suffers from highly volatile forecast errors. Forecast combinations face a better bias–efficiency trade‐off, yielding a consistently superior forecast performance for the market excess return and the size premium even after the 1970s.     

基于MATLAB的煤与瓦斯突出BP网络预测方法

影响煤与瓦斯突出的各种要素与突出现象之间的关系复杂,且具有明显的非线性特点.BP人工神经网络模型可以很好地逼近这种非线性函数关系.基于煤与瓦斯突出特征指标的分析,建立了合理的单隐层结构的BP预测模型,并利用MATLAB神经网络工具箱实现了模型的训练与预测,应用结果表明,这种突出预测方法具有很高的计算效率和预测精度.