arXiv subjects

Frank Schorfheide

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Schorfheide.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Misspecification-Robust Shrinkage and Selection for VAR Forecasts and IRFs

Vector autoregressions (VARs) are vulnerable to dynamic misspecification, forcing researchers to navigate complex bias-variance trade-offs when forecasting or estimating impulse response functions (IRFs). We derive novel, task-specific selection criteria -- PC for forecasting and IRFC for IRF estimation -- based on asymptotically unbiased estimates of frequentist risk under local dynamic misspecification. These criteria give empirical researchers a fully data-driven and misspecification-aware workflow that simultaneously selects among candidate estimators, the degree of Bayesian shrinkage, and the lag length. IRFC is the first criterion allowing researchers to seamlessly choose between iterated-VAR and local-projection IRF estimators while jointly tuning shrinkage and lag length for the task at hand.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2025

Optimal Decision Rules when Payoffs are Partially Identified

We derive asymptotically optimal statistical decision rules for discrete choice problems when payoffs depend on a partially-identified parameter $θ$ and the decision maker can use a point-identified parameter $μ$ to deduce restrictions on $θ$. Examples include treatment choice under partial identification and pricing with rich unobserved heterogeneity. Our notion of optimality combines a minimax approach to handle the ambiguity from partial identification of $θ$ given $μ$ with an average risk minimization approach for $μ$. We show how to implement optimal decision rules using the bootstrap and (quasi-)Bayesian methods in both parametric and semiparametric settings. We provide detailed applications to treatment choice and optimal pricing. Our asymptotic approach is well suited for realistic empirical settings in which the derivation of finite-sample optimal rules is intractable.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2025

Optimal Estimation of Two-Way Effects under Limited Mobility

We propose an empirical Bayes estimator for two-way effects in linked data sets based on a novel prior that leverages patterns of assortative matching observed in the data. To capture limited mobility we model the bipartite graph associated with the matched data in an asymptotic framework where its Laplacian matrix has small eigenvalues that converge to zero. The prior hyperparameters that control the shrinkage are determined by minimizing an unbiased risk estimate. We show the proposed empirical Bayes estimator is asymptotically optimal in compound loss, despite the weak connectivity of the bipartite graph and the potential misspecification of the prior. We estimate teacher values-added from a linked North Carolina Education Research Data Center student-teacher data set.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2024

Bayesian Estimation of Panel Models under Potentially Sparse Heterogeneity

We incorporate a version of a spike and slab prior, comprising a pointmass at zero ("spike") and a Normal distribution around zero ("slab") into a dynamic panel data framework to model coefficient heterogeneity. In addition to homogeneity and full heterogeneity, our specification can also capture sparse heterogeneity, that is, there is a core group of units that share common parameters and a set of deviators with idiosyncratic parameters. We fit a model with unobserved components to income data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We find evidence for sparse heterogeneity for balanced panels composed of individuals with long employment histories.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Forecasting with a Panel Tobit Model

We use a dynamic panel Tobit model with heteroskedasticity to generate forecasts for a large cross-section of short time series of censored observations. Our fully Bayesian approach allows us to flexibly estimate the cross-sectional distribution of heterogeneous coefficients and then implicitly use this distribution as prior to construct Bayes forecasts for the individual time series. In addition to density forecasts, we construct set forecasts that explicitly target the average coverage probability for the cross-section. We present a novel application in which we forecast bank-level loan charge-off rates for small banks.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Sequential Monte Carlo With Model Tempering

Modern macroeconometrics often relies on time series models for which it is time-consuming to evaluate the likelihood function. We demonstrate how Bayesian computations for such models can be drastically accelerated by reweighting and mutating posterior draws from an approximating model that allows for fast likelihood evaluations, into posterior draws from the model of interest, using a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithm. We apply the technique to the estimation of a vector autoregression with stochastic volatility and a nonlinear dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. The runtime reductions we obtain range from 27% to 88%.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2020

Robust Forecasting

We use a decision-theoretic framework to study the problem of forecasting discrete outcomes when the forecaster is unable to discriminate among a set of plausible forecast distributions because of partial identification or concerns about model misspecification or structural breaks. We derive "robust" forecasts which minimize maximum risk or regret over the set of forecast distributions. We show that for a large class of models including semiparametric panel data models for dynamic discrete choice, the robust forecasts depend in a natural way on a small number of convex optimization problems which can be simplified using duality methods. Finally, we derive "efficient robust" forecasts to deal with the problem of first having to estimate the set of forecast distributions and develop a suitable asymptotic efficiency theory. Forecasts obtained by replacing nuisance parameters that characterize the set of forecast distributions with efficient first-stage estimators can be strictly dominated by our efficient robust forecasts.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2018

Inference for VARs Identified with Sign Restrictions

There is a fast growing literature that set-identifies structural vector autoregressions (SVARs) by imposing sign restrictions on the responses of a subset of the endogenous variables to a particular structural shock (sign-restricted SVARs). Most methods that have been used to construct pointwise coverage bands for impulse responses of sign-restricted SVARs are justified only from a Bayesian perspective. This paper demonstrates how to formulate the inference problem for sign-restricted SVARs within a moment-inequality framework. In particular, it develops methods of constructing confidence bands for impulse response functions of sign-restricted SVARs that are valid from a frequentist perspective. The paper also provides a comparison of frequentist and Bayesian coverage bands in the context of an empirical application - the former can be substantially wider than the latter.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2017

Forecasting with Dynamic Panel Data Models

This paper considers the problem of forecasting a collection of short time series using cross sectional information in panel data. We construct point predictors using Tweedie's formula for the posterior mean of heterogeneous coefficients under a correlated random effects distribution. This formula utilizes cross-sectional information to transform the unit-specific (quasi) maximum likelihood estimator into an approximation of the posterior mean under a prior distribution that equals the population distribution of the random coefficients. We show that the risk of a predictor based on a non-parametric estimate of the Tweedie correction is asymptotically equivalent to the risk of a predictor that treats the correlated-random-effects distribution as known (ratio-optimality). Our empirical Bayes predictor performs well compared to various competitors in a Monte Carlo study. In an empirical application we use the predictor to forecast revenues for a large panel of bank holding companies and compare forecasts that condition on actual and severely adverse macroeconomic conditions.

econ.EM↗