NON‐PARAMETRIC ESTIMATION OF HIGH‐FREQUENCY SPOT VOLATILITY FOR BROWNIAN SEMIMARTINGALE WITH JUMPS

The availability of high‐frequency financial data has led to substantial improvements in our understanding of financial volatility. Most existing literature focuses on estimating the integrated volatility over a fixed period. This article proposes a non‐parametric threshold kernel method to estimate the time‐dependent spot volatility and jumps when the underlying price process is governed by Brownian semimartingale with finite activity jumps. The threshold kernel estimator combines the threshold estimation for integrated volatility and the kernel filtering approach for spot volatility when the price process is driven only by diffusions without jumps. The estimator proposed is consistent and asymptotically normal and has the same rate of convergence as the estimator studied by Kristensen (2010) in a setting without jumps. The Monte Carlo simulation study shows that the proposed estimator exhibits excellent performance over a wide range of jump sizes and for different sampling frequencies. An empirical example is given to illustrate the potential applications of the proposed method.     

Quasi‐Maximum Likelihood Estimation for a Class of Continuous‐time Long‐memory Processes

Tsai and Chan (2003) has recently introduced the Continuous‐time Auto‐Regressive Fractionally Integrated Moving‐Average (CARFIMA) models useful for studying long‐memory data. We consider the estimation of the CARFIMA models with discrete‐time data by maximizing the Whittle likelihood. We show that the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator is asymptotically normal and efficient. Finite‐sample properties of the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator and those of the exact maximum likelihood estimator are compared by simulations. Simulations suggest that for finite samples, the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator of the Hurst parameter is less biased but more variable than the exact maximum likelihood estimator. We illustrate the method with a real application.     

A PARAMETER‐DRIVEN LOGIT REGRESSION MODEL FOR BINARY TIME SERIES

We consider a parameter‐driven regression model for binary time series, where serial dependence is introduced by an autocorrelated latent process incorporated into the logit link function. Unlike in the case of parameter‐driven Poisson log‐linear or negative binomial logit regression model studied in the literature for time series of counts, generalized linear model (GLM) estimation of the regression coefficient vector, which suppresses the latent process and maximizes the corresponding pseudo‐likelihood, cannot produce a consistent estimator. As a remedial measure, in this article, we propose a modified GLM estimation procedure and show that the resulting estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal. Moreover, we develop two procedures for estimating the asymptotic covariance matrix of the estimator and establish their consistency property. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the finite‐sample performance of the proposed procedures. An empirical example is also presented.     

Spectral estimates for high‐frequency sampled continuous‐time autoregressive moving average processes

In this article, we consider a continuous‐time autoregressive moving average (CARMA) process driven by either a symmetric α‐stable Lévy process with α ∈ (0,2) or a symmetric Lévy process with finite second moments. In the asymptotic framework of high‐frequency data within a long time interval, we establish a consistent estimate for the normalized power transfer function by applying a smoothing filter to the periodogram of the CARMA process. We use this result to propose an estimator for the parameters of the CARMA process and exemplify the estimation procedure by a simulation study.     

NON‐PARAMETRIC ESTIMATION UNDER STRONG DEPENDENCE

We study non‐parametric regression function estimation for models with strong dependence. Compared with short‐range dependent models, long‐range dependent models often result in slower convergence rates. We propose a simple differencing‐sequence based non‐parametric estimator that achieves the same convergence rate as if the data were independent. Simulation studies show that the proposed method has good finite sample performance.     

A similarity‐based approach to time‐varying coefficient non‐stationary autoregression

We suggest in this article a similarity‐based approach to time‐varying coefficient non‐stationary autoregression. In a given sample, the model can display characteristics consistent with stationary, unit root and explosive behaviour, depending on the similarity between the dependent variable and its past values. We establish consistency of the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator of the model, with a general norming factor. Asymptotic score‐based hypothesis tests are derived. The model is applied to a data set comprised of dual stocks traded in NASDAQ and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.     

Change‐Point Detection in Autoregressive Models with no Moment Assumptions

In this paper we consider the problem of detecting a change in the parameters of an autoregressive process where the moments of the innovation process do not necessarily exist. An empirical likelihood ratio test for the existence of a change point is proposed and its asymptotic properties are studied. In contrast to other works on change‐point tests using empirical likelihood, we do not assume knowledge of the location of the change point. In particular, we prove that the maximizer of the empirical likelihood is a consistent estimator for the parameters of the autoregressive model in the case of no change point and derive the limiting distribution of the corresponding test statistic under the null hypothesis. We also establish consistency of the new test. A nice feature of the method is the fact that the resulting test is asymptotically distribution‐free and does not require an estimate of the long‐run variance. The asymptotic properties of the test are investigated by means of a small simulation study, which demonstrates good finite‐sample properties of the proposed method.     

An Unbiased Measure of Integrated Volatility in the Frequency Domain

This article studies the effect of market microstructure noise on volatility estimation in the frequency domain. We propose a bias‐corrected periodogram‐based estimator of integrated volatility. We show that the new estimator is consistent and the central limit theorem is established under a general assumption of the noise. We also provide a feasible procedure for computing the bias‐corrected estimator in practice. As a byproduct, we extract a consistent frequency‐domain estimator of the long‐run variance of market microstructure noise from high‐frequency data.     

Broadband semi‐parametric estimation of long‐memory time series by fractional exponential models

This article proposes broadband semi‐parametric estimation of a long‐memory parameter by fractional exponential (FEXP) models. We construct the truncated Whittle likelihood based on FEXP models in a semi‐parametric setting to estimate the parameter and show that the proposed estimator is more efficient than the FEXP estimator by Moulines and Soulier (1999) in linear processes. A Monte Carlo simulation suggests that the proposed estimation is more preferable than the existing broadband semi‐parametric estimation.     

Negative Binomial Quasi‐Likelihood Inference for General Integer‐Valued Time Series Models

Two negative binomial quasi‐maximum likelihood estimates (NB‐QMLEs) for a general class of count time series models are proposed. The first one is the profile NB‐QMLE calculated while arbitrarily fixing the dispersion parameter of the negative binomial likelihood. The second one, termed two‐stage NB‐QMLE, consists of four stages estimating both conditional mean and dispersion parameters. It is shown that the two estimates are consistent and asymptotically Gaussian under mild conditions. Moreover, the two‐stage NB‐QMLE enjoys a certain asymptotic efficiency property provided that a negative binomial link function relating the conditional mean and conditional variance is specified. The proposed NB‐QMLEs are compared with the Poisson QMLE asymptotically and in finite samples for various well‐known particular classes of count time series models such as the Poisson and negative binomial integer‐valued GARCH model and the INAR(1) model. Application to a real dataset is given.     

Quasi‐Bayesian Estimation of Time‐Varying Volatility in DSGE Models

We propose a novel quasi‐Bayesian Metropolis‐within‐Gibbs algorithm that can be used to estimate drifts in the shock volatilities of a linearized dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. The resulting volatility estimates differ from the existing approaches in two ways. First, the time variation enters non‐parametrically, so that our approach ensures consistent estimation in a wide class of processes, thereby eliminating the need to specify the volatility law of motion and alleviating the risk of invalid inference due to mis‐specification. Second, the conditional quasi‐posterior of the drifting volatilities is available in closed form, which makes inference straightforward and simplifies existing algorithms. We apply our estimation procedure to a standard DSGE model and find that the estimated volatility paths are smoother compared to alternative stochastic volatility estimates. Moreover, we demonstrate that our procedure can deliver statistically significant improvements to the density forecasts of the DSGE model compared to alternative methods.     

A light‐tailed conditionally heteroscedastic model with applications to river flows

Abstract. A conditionally heteroscedastic model, different from the more commonly used autoregressive moving average–generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroscedastic (ARMA‐GARCH) processes, is established and analysed here. The time‐dependent variance of innovations passing through an ARMA filter is conditioned on the lagged values of the generated process, rather than on the lagged innovations, and is defined to be asymptotically proportional to those past values. Designed this way, the model incorporates certain feedback from the modelled process, the innovation is no longer of GARCH type, and all moments of the modelled process are finite provided the same is true for the generating noise. The article gives the condition of stationarity, and proves consistency and asymptotic normality of the Gaussian quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator of the variance parameters, even though the estimated parameters of the linear filter contain an error. An analysis of six diurnal water discharge series observed along Rivers Danube and Tisza in Hungary demonstrates the usefulness of such a model. The effect of lagged river discharge turns out to be highly significant on the variance of innovations, and nonparametric estimation approves its approximate linearity. Simulations from the new model preserve well the probability distribution, the high quantiles, the tail behaviour and the high‐level clustering of the original series, further justifying model choice.     

Empirical likelihood in long‐memory time series models

This article studies the empirical likelihood method for long‐memory time series models. By virtue of the Whittle likelihood, one obtains a score function that can be viewed as an estimating equation of the parameters of a fractional integrated autoregressive moving average (ARFIMA) model. This score function is used to obtain an empirical likelihood ratio which is shown to be asymptotically chi‐square distributed. Confidence regions for the parameters are constructed based on the asymptotic distribution of the empirical likelihood ratio. Bartlett correction and finite sample properties of the empirical likelihood confidence regions are examined.     

Consistent Estimation of the Value at Risk When the Error Distribution of the Volatility Model is Misspecified

A two‐step approach for conditional value at risk estimation is considered. First, a generalized quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator is employed to estimate the volatility parameter, then the empirical quantile of the residuals serves to estimate the theoretical quantile of the innovations. When the instrumental density h of the generalized quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator is not the Gaussian density, both the estimations of the volatility and of the quantile are generally asymptotically biased. However, the two errors counterbalance and lead to a consistent estimator of the value at risk. We obtain the asymptotic behavior of this estimator and show how to choose optimally h.     

Poisson QMLE of Count Time Series Models

Regularity conditions are given for the consistency of the Poisson quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator of the conditional mean parameter of a count time series model. The asymptotic distribution of the estimator is studied when the parameter belongs to the interior of the parameter space and when it lies at the boundary. Tests for the significance of the parameters and for constant conditional mean are deduced. Applications to specific integer‐valued autoregressive (INAR) and integer‐valued generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (INGARCH) models are considered. Numerical illustrations, Monte Carlo simulations and real data series are provided.     

Inference for pth‐order random coefficient integer‐valued autoregressive processes

Abstract. A pth‐order random coefficient integer‐valued autoregressive [RCINAR(p)] model is proposed for count data. Stationarity and ergodicity properties are established. Maximum likelihood, conditional least squares, modified quasi‐likelihood and generalized method of moments are used to estimate the model parameters. Asymptotic properties of the estimators are derived. Simulation results on the comparison of the estimators are reported. The models are applied to two real data sets.     

Asymptotics for the Conditional‐Sum‐of‐Squares Estimator in Multivariate Fractional Time‐Series Models

This article proves consistency and asymptotic normality for the conditional‐sum‐of‐squares estimator, which is equivalent to the conditional maximum likelihood estimator, in multivariate fractional time‐series models. The model is parametric and quite general and, in particular, encompasses the multivariate non‐cointegrated fractional autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. The novelty of the consistency result, in particular, is that it applies to a multivariate model and to an arbitrarily large set of admissible parameter values, for which the objective function does not converge uniformly in probability, thus making the proof much more challenging than usual. The neighbourhood around the critical point where uniform convergence fails is handled using a truncation argument.     

NORMING RATES AND LIMIT THEORY FOR SOME TIME‐VARYING COEFFICIENT AUTOREGRESSIONS

A time‐varying autoregression is considered with a similarity‐based coefficient and possible drift. It is shown that the random‐walk model has a natural interpretation as the leading term in a small‐sigma expansion of a similarity model with an exponential similarity function as its AR coefficient. Consistency of the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator of the parameters in this model is established, the behaviours of the score and Hessian functions are analysed and test statistics are suggested. A complete list is provided of the normalization rates required for the consistency proof and for the score and Hessian function standardization. A large family of unit root models with stationary and explosive alternatives is characterized within the similarity class through the asymptotic negligibility of a certain quadratic form that appears in the score function. A variant of the stochastic unit root model within the class is studied, and a large‐sample limit theory provided, which leads to a new nonlinear diffusion process limit showing the form of the drift and conditional volatility induced by sustained stochastic departures from unity. The findings provide a composite case for time‐varying coefficient dynamic modelling. Some simulations and a brief empirical application to data on international Exchange Traded Funds are included. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Publishing Ltd     

Empirical likelihood intervals for conditional Value‐at‐Risk in ARCH/GARCH models

Value‐at‐Risk (VaR) is a simple, but useful measure in risk management. When some volatility model is employed, conditional VaR is of importance. As autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (ARCH) and generalized ARCH (GARCH) models are widely used in modelling volatilities, in this article, we propose empirical likelihood methods to obtain an interval estimation for the conditional VaR with the volatility model being an ARCH/GARCH model.     

On Asymptotic Theory for ARCH (∞) Models

Autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH)() models nest a wide range of ARCH and generalized ARCH models including models with long memory in volatility. Existing work assumes the existence of second moments. However, the fractionally integrated generalized ARCH model, one version of a long memory in volatility model, does not have finite second moments and rarely satisfies the moment conditions of the existing literature. This article weakens the moment assumptions of a general ARCH( ) class of models and develops the theory for consistency and asymptotic normality of the quasi‐maximum likelihood estimator.