The yield curve and the macro-economy across time and frequencies

Luís Aguiar-Conraria (), Manuel Martins and Maria Joana Soares ()
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Maria Joana Soares: Universidade do Minho

No 21/2010, NIPE Working Papers from NIPE - Universidade do Minho

Abstract: This paper assesses the relation between the yield curve and the main macroeconomic variables in the U.S. between early 1960s and 2009 across time and frequencies, using wavelet analyses. The shape of the yield curve is modelled by latent factors corresponding to its level, slope and curvature, estimated by maximum likelihood with the Kalman filter. The macroeconomic variables measure econmic activity, unemployment, inflation and the fed funds rate. The cross wavelet tools employed - coherency and phase difference - , the set of variables and the length of the sample, allow for a thorough appraisal of the time- variation and structural breaks in the direction,intensity,synchronization and periodicity of the relation between the yield curve and the macro-economy. Our evidence establishes a number of new stylized facts on the yield curve-macro relation; and sheds light on several results found in the literature, which could not have been achieved with analyses conducted strictly in the time-domain(as most of the literature)or purely in the frequency-domain.

Keywords: Macro-finance; Yield curve; Kalman filter; Continuous wavelet transform; Wavelet coherency; Phase-difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C32 C49 E43 E44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba and nep-mac
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Related works:
Journal Article: The yield curve and the macro-economy across time and frequencies (2012)
Working Paper: The yield curve and the macro-economy across time and frequencies (2010)
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