We develop an asymptotic theory for the first two sample moments of a stationary multivariate long memory process under fairly general conditions. In this theory the convergence rates and the limits (the fractional Brownian motion, the Rosenblatt process, etc.) all depend intrinsically on the degree of long memory in the process. The theory of the sample moments is then applied to the multiple linear regression model. An interesting finding is that, even though all the regressors and the disturbance are stationary and ergodic, the joint long memory in one single regressor and in the disturbance can invalidate the usual asymptotic theory for the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. Specifically, the convergence rates of the OLS estimators become slower, the limits are not normal, and the standard t- and F-tests all collapse.

Asymptotic theory for heteroskedasticity autocorrelation consistent (HAC) covariance matrix estimators requires the truncation lag, or bandwidth, to increase more slowly than the sample size. This paper considers an alternative approach covering the case with the asymptotic covariance matrix estimated by kernel methods with truncation lag equal to sample size. Although such estimators are inconsistent, valid tests (asymptotically pivotal) for regression parameters can be constructed. The limiting distributions explicitly capture the truncation lag and choice of kernel. A local asymptotic power analysis shows that the Bartlett kernel delivers the highest power within a group of popular kernels. Finite sample simulations suggest that, regardless of the kernel chosen, the null asymptotic approximation of the new tests is often more accurate than that for conventional HAC estimators and asymptotics. Finite sample results on power show that the new approach is competitive.

Motivated by a nonparametric GARCH model we consider nonparametric additive autoregression models in the special case that the additive components are linked parametrically. We show that the parameter can be estimated with parametric rate and give the normal limit. Our procedure is based on two steps. In the first step nonparametric smoothers are used for the estimation of each additive component without taking into account the parametric link of the functions. In a second step the parameter is estimated by using the parametric restriction between the additive components. Interestingly, our method needs no undersmoothing in the first step.

In this paper we propose an alternative characterization of the central notion of cointegration, exploiting the relationship between the autocovariance and the cross-covariance functions of the series. This characterization leads us to propose a new estimator of the cointegrating parameter based on the instrumental variables (IV) methodology. The instrument is a delayed regressor obtained from the conditional bivariate system of nonstationary fractionally integrated processes with a weakly stationary error correction term. We prove the consistency of this estimator and derive its limiting distribution. We also show that, in the I(1) case, with a semiparametric correction simpler than the one required for the fully modified ordinary least squares (FM-OLS), our fully modified instrumental variables (FM-IV) estimator is median-unbiased, a mixture of normals, and asymptotically efficient. As a consequence, standard inference can be conducted with this new FM-IV estimator of the cointegrating parameter. We show by the use of Monte Carlo simulations that the small sample gains with the new IV estimator over OLS are remarkable.

This paper provides asymptotic standard errors for the moving average (MA) impact matrix for the second differences of a vector autoregressive (VAR) process integrated of order 2, I(2). Standard errors of the row space of the MA impact matrix are also provided; bases of this row space define the common I(2) trends linear combinations. These standard errors are then used to formulate Wald-type tests. The MA impact matrix is shown to be linked to impact factors that measure the total effect of disequilibrium errors on the growth rate of the system. Most of the relevant limit distributions are Gaussian, and we report artificial regressions that can be used to calculate the estimators of the asymptotic variances. The use of the techniques proposed in the paper is illustrated on UK money data.

Presently, conditions ensuring the validity of bootstrap methods for the sample mean of (possibly heterogeneous) near epoch dependent (NED) functions of mixing processes are unknown. Here we establish the validity of the bootstrap in this context, extending the applicability of bootstrap methods to a class of processes broadly relevant for applications in economics and finance. Our results apply to two block bootstrap methods: the moving blocks bootstrap of Künsch (1989, Annals of Statistics 17, 1217–1241) and Liu and Singh (1992, in R. LePage & L. Billiard (eds.), Exploring the Limits of the Bootstrap, 224–248) and the stationary bootstrap of Politis and Romano (1994a, Journal of the American Statistical Association 89, 1303–1313). In particular, the consistency of the bootstrap variance estimator for the sample mean is shown to be robust against heteroskedasticity and dependence of unknown form. The first-order asymptotic validity of the bootstrap approximation to the actual distribution of the sample mean is also established in this heterogeneous NED context.

Unit root tests for time series with level shifts of general form are considered when the timing of the shift is unknown. It is proposed to estimate the nuisance parameters of the data generation process including the shift date in a first step and apply standard unit root tests to the residuals. The estimation of the nuisance parameters is done in such a way that the unit root tests on the residuals have the same limiting distributions as for the case of a known break date. Simulations are performed to investigate the small sample properties of the tests, and empirical examples are discussed to illustrate the procedure.

Motivated by Efron (1992, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B 54, 83–111), this paper proposes a version of the moving block jackknife as a method of estimating standard errors of block-bootstrap estimators under dependence. As in the case of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) observations, the proposed method merely regroups the values of a statistic from different bootstrap replicates to produce an estimate of its standard error. Consistency of the resulting jackknife standard error estimator is proved for block-bootstrap estimators of the bias and the variance of a large class of statistics. Consistency of Efron's method is also established in similar problems for i.i.d. data.

For regression models with general unstable regressors having characteristic roots on the unit circle and general stationary errors independent of the regressors, sufficient conditions are investigated under which the ordinary least squares estimator (OLSE) is asymptotically efficient in that it has the same limiting distribution as the generalized least squares estimator (GLSE) under the same normalization. A key condition for the asymptotic efficiency of the OLSE is that one multiplicity of a characteristic root of the regressor process is strictly greater than the multiplicities of the other roots. Under this condition, the covariance matrix Γ of the errors and the regressor matrix X are shown to satisfy a relationship (ΓX = XC + V for some matrix C) for V asymptotically dominated by X, which is analogous to the condition (ΓX = XC for some matrix C) for numerical equivalence of the OLSE and the GLSE.

Shibata (1981, Biometrika 68, 45–54) considers data-generating mechanisms belonging to a certain class of linear regressions with errors that are independent and identically normally distributed. He compares the variable selection criteria AIC (Akaike information criterion) and BIC (Bayesian information criterion) using the following type of comparison. For each fixed possible data–generating mechanism, these criteria are compared as the data length increases. The results of this comparison have been interpreted as meaning that, in the context of the data-generating mechanisms considered by Shibata, AIC is better than BIC for large data lengths. Shibata's comparison is pointwise in the space of data–generating mechanisms (as the data length increases). Such comparisons are potentially misleading. We consider a simple class of data-generating mechanisms satisfying Shibata's assumptions and carry out a different type of comparison. For each fixed data length (possibly large) we compare the variable selection criteria for every possible data-generating mechanism in this class. According to this comparison, for this class of data-generating mechanisms no matter how large the data length AIC is not better than BIC.

This paper analyzes the limit distribution of minimum distance (MD) estimators for nonstationary time series models that involve nonlinear parameter restrictions. A rotation for the restricted parameter space is constructed to separate the components of the MD estimator that converge at different rates. We derive regularity conditions for the restriction function that are easier to verify than the stochastic equicontinuity conditions that arise from direct estimation of the restricted parameters. The sequence of matrices that is used to weigh the discrepancy between the unrestricted estimates and the restriction function is allowed to have a stochastic limit. For MD estimators based on unrestricted estimators with a mixed normal asymptotic distribution the optimal weight matrix is derived and a goodness-of-fit test is proposed. Our estimation theory is illustrated in the context of a permanent-income model and a present-value model.

In this paper we consider a family of penalized likelihood criteria for determining the rank of the cointegration space, the number of lags, and the form of the intercept in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes. The paper provides a general consistency result for a class of model determination procedures in which the penalty depends on a simple parameter count only.

This paper proposes robust M-estimators of dynamic linear models with a structural break of unknown location. Rates of convergence and limiting distributions for the estimated shift point and the estimated regression parameters are derived. The analysis is carried out in the framework of possibly dependent observations and also with trending regressors. The asymptotic distribution of the break location estimator is obtained both for fixed magnitude of shift and for shift with magnitude converging to zero as the sample size increases. The latter is essential for the derivation of feasible confidence intervals for the break location. Monte Carlo simulations illustrate the performance of asymptotic inferences in practice.

Several economic and financial time series are bounded by an upper and lower finite limit (e.g., interest rates). It is not possible to say that these time series are random walks because random walks are limitless with probability one (as time goes to infinity). Yet, some of these time series behave just like random walks. In this paper we propose a new approach that takes into account these ideas. We propose a discrete-time and a continuous-time process (diffusion process) that generate bounded random walks. These paths are almost indistinguishable from random walks, although they are stochastically bounded by an upper and lower finite limit. We derive for both cases the ergodic conditions, and for the diffusion process we present a closed expression for the stationary distribution. This approach suggests that many time series with random walk behavior can in fact be stationarity processes.

Because the empirical characteristic function (ECF) is the Fourier transform of the empirical distribution function, it retains all the information in the sample but can overcome difficulties arising from the likelihood. This paper discusses an estimation method via the ECF for strictly stationary processes. Under some regularity conditions, the resulting estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. The method is applied to estimate the stable autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. For the general stable ARMA model for which the maximum likelihood approach is not feasible, Monte Carlo evidence shows that the ECF method is a viable estimation method for all the parameters of interest. For the Gaussian ARMA model, a particular stable ARMA model, the optimal weight functions and estimating equations are given. Monte Carlo studies highlight the finite sample performances of the ECF method relative to the exact and conditional maximum likelihood methods.

In the context of testing the specification of a nonlinear parametric regression function, we adopt a nonparametric minimax approach to determine the maximum rate at which a set of smooth alternatives can approach the null hypothesis while ensuring that a test can uniformly detect any alternative in this set with some predetermined power. We show that a smooth nonparametric test has optimal asymptotic minimax properties for regular alternatives. As a by-product, we obtain the rate of the smoothing parameter that ensures rate-optimality of the test. We show that, in contrast, a class of nonsmooth tests, which includes the integrated conditional moment test of Bierens (1982, Journal of Econometrics 20, 105–134), has suboptimal asymptotic minimax properties.

This paper considers a continuous time unobserved components model in which the cyclical component follows a differential-difference equation whereas the trend and seasonal components follow more standard differential equations. Estimation of the parameters of the model with either a stock or a flow variable is analyzed using a frequency domain Gaussian estimator whose asymptotic properties are derived paying particular attention to the role of a truncation parameter that arises in the practical computation of the spectral density function. The results of a simulation exercise, which assesses the finite sample performance of the estimator, are also provided.

Non- or semiparametric estimation and lag selection methods are proposed for three seasonal nonlinear autoregressive models of varying seasonal flexibility. All procedures are based on either local constant or local linear estimation. For the semiparametric models, after preliminary estimation of the seasonal parameters, the function estimation and lag selection are the same as nonparametric estimation and lag selection for standard models. A Monte Carlo study demonstrates good performance of all three methods. The semiparametric methods are applied to German real gross national product and UK public investment data. For these series our procedures provide evidence of nonlinear dynamics.

Let Xt be a linear process defined by Xt = [sum ]k=0∞ ψkεt−k, where {ψk, k ≥ 0} is a sequence of real numbers and {εk, k = 0,±1,±2,...} is a sequence of random variables. Two basic results, on the invariance principle of the partial sum process of the Xt converging to a standard Wiener process on [0,1], are presented in this paper. In the first result, we assume that the innovations εk are independent and identically distributed random variables but do not restrict [sum ]k=0∞ |ψk| < ∞. We note that, for the partial sum process of the Xt converging to a standard Wiener process, the condition [sum ]k=0∞ |ψk| < ∞ or stronger conditions are commonly used in previous research. The second result is for the situation where the innovations εk form a martingale difference sequence. For this result, the commonly used assumption of equal variance of the innovations εk is weakened. We apply these general results to unit root testing. It turns out that the limit distributions of the Dickey–Fuller test statistic and Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt, and Shin (KPSS) test statistic still hold for the more general models under very weak conditions.

Although econometricians have been using Bollerslev's (1986, Journal of Econometrics 31, 307–327) GARCH(r, s) model for over a decade, the higher order moment structure of the model remains unresolved. The sufficient condition for the existence of the higher order moments of the GARCH(r, s) model was given by Ling (1999a, Journal of Applied Probability 36, 688–705). This paper shows that Ling's condition is also necessary. As an extension, the necessary and sufficient moment conditions are established for Ding, Granger, and Engle's (1993, Journal of Empirical Finance, 1, 83–106) asymmetric power GARCH(r, s) model.