A Nonparametric Bayesian Approach to Detect the Number of Regimes in Markov Switching Models

Edoardo Otranto and Giampiero Gallo

Econometrics Working Papers Archive from Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti"

Abstract: The literature on Markov switching models is increasing and producing interesting results both at theoretical and applied levels. Most often the number of regimes, i.e., of data generating processes, is considered known; this strong hypothesis is adopted to somewhat bypass the nuisance parameter problem which affects hypothesis testing for the number of regimes. In this paper we take the view that some results derived from a nonparametric Bayesian approach provide a convenient way to deal with the issue of detecting the number of components in the mixture density, based on the assumption that the parameter distributions are generated by a Dirichlet process. The advantage is that we need no testing (in a classical sense) for the number of regimes, and the approach is not affected by a change point at the beginning or at the end of the sample. A Monte Carlo experiment provides some insights into the performance of the procedure. The potentiality of the approach is illustrated in reference with some well known results on exchange rate modelling.

Keywords: Markov switching models; nuisance parameters; specification testing; exchange rate determination. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C2 C5 F3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2001
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Journal Article: A NONPARAMETRIC BAYESIAN APPROACH TO DETECT THE NUMBER OF REGIMES IN MARKOV SWITCHING MODELS (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fir:econom:wp2001_04

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