Variational inference for large Bayesian vector autoregressions
We propose a novel variational Bayes approach to estimate high-dimensional vector autoregression (VAR) models with hierarchical shrinkage priors. Our approach does not rely on a conventional structural VAR representation of the parameter space for posterior inference. Instead, we elicit hierarchical shrinkage priors directly on the matrix of regression coefficients so that (1) the prior structure directly maps into posterior inference on the reduced-form transition matrix, and (2) posterior estimates are more robust to variables permutation. An extensive simulation study provides evidence that our approach compares favourably against existing linear and non-linear Markov Chain Monte Carlo and variational Bayes methods. We investigate both the statistical and economic value of the forecasts from our variational inference approach within the context of a mean-variance investor allocating her wealth in a large set of different industry portfolios. The results show that more accurate estimates translate into substantial statistical and economic out-of-sample gains. The results hold across different hierarchical shrinkage priors and model dimensions.
Code (0)
등록된 구현이 없습니다.
Tasks
regressionVariational InferenceSimilar Papers 제목 키워드 기반
Approximation Properties of Variational Bayes for Vector Autoregressions
Variational Bayes (VB) is a recent approximate method for Bayesian inference. It has the merit of being a fast and scalable alternative to Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) but its approximation error is often unknown. In …
Bayesian InferenceregressionFast Two-Stage Variational Bayesian Approach to Estimating Panel Spatial Autoregressive Models with Unrestricted Spatial Weights Matrices
This paper proposes a fast two-stage variational Bayesian (VB) algorithm to estimate unrestricted panel spatial autoregressive models. Using Dirichlet-Laplace priors, we are able to uncover the spatial relationships betw…
A new algorithm for structural restrictions in Bayesian vector autoregressions
A comprehensive methodology for inference in vector autoregressions (VARs) using sign and other structural restrictions is developed. The reduced-form VAR disturbances are driven by a few common factors and structural id…
Formparameter estimationFast and Order-invariant Inference in Bayesian VARs with Non-Parametric Shocks
The shocks which hit macroeconomic models such as Vector Autoregressions (VARs) have the potential to be non-Gaussian, exhibiting asymmetries and fat tails. This consideration motivates the VAR developed in this paper wh…
Bayesian InferenceBayesian Inference for Structural Vector Autoregressions Identified by Markov-Switching Heteroskedasticity
In this study, Bayesian inference is developed for structural vector autoregressive models in which the structural parameters are identified via Markov-switching heteroskedasticity. In such a model, restrictions that are…
Bayesian Inference