ECON7350: Applied Econometrics for Macroeconomics and Finance
Applied Econometrics for Macroeconomics and Finance
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ECON7350: Applied Econometrics for Macroeconomics
and Finance
Research Report
Instruction
The project consists of two research questions. Please use multiple equations models (MEMs)
to answer both questions as clearly and completely as possible. Each question is worth 50
marks, for a total of 100 marks. This report will constitute 35% of your overall grade in this
course.
We suggest that you use R for all empirical work involved. However, you should be able to
use another statistical software (e.g. Eviews, Stata, Python, etc.) without a problem. If you
do choose to work with an alternative software, please note that support for software-specific
issues from the course coordinator and tutors may be very limited.
Please upload your report via the “Turnitin” submission link (in the “Assessment /
Research Report 2” folder). Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. At the
moment, the due date is 3:59 PM on 5 June 2023, but please check BlackBoard regularly
for announcements regarding any changes to this. Your report should be a write-up of your
answers (in PDF format, single-spaced, and in 12 font size).1
You are allowed to work on this assignment with others, i.e., you can discuss how to
answer the questions with your classmate(s). However, this is not a group assignment, which
means that the report must be written individually: you must answer all the questions in
your own words and submit your report separately.
Questions
The dataset for this project is contained in report2.csv, which is an extension of the
dataset used in Research Report 1. Recall that in the Research Report 1 dataset, the
variables are quarterly time-series of macroeconomic indicators in Australia for the period
1990Q3—2021Q4. In particular, the dataset contains the following variables:
1Please do not include or attach any software specific material such as R source code and output. In
particular, you should summarise the output in the report, but please do not copy-paste the “dump” produced
by the software.
1
real gdp: natural logarithm of seasonally adjusted gross domestic product measured in
chain volume millions of dollars;
unemployment rate: the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for all persons at the
end of each quarter;
cpi inflation: the percentage change from the corresponding quarter of the previous
year of all groups CPI;
cash rate: the RBA cash target rate at the end of each quarter.
The dataset for Research Report 2 is nearly identical to that of Research Report 1—the
only difference is that the data is extended to cover the period 1990Q3—2022Q4. (specifi-
cally, it is extended to include 4 quarters of observations past 2021Q4).
Please answer the following two questions using an MEM approach.
1. Use the data provided for the subsample period 1990Q3—2021Q4 to forecast cpi inflation
for 2022 and 2023 (two years or equivalently eight quarters past the end of the sample).
In other words, repeat the exercise from Research Report 1, Question 1, but this time
using MEMs. Please describe all potential sources of uncertainty on a conceptual level,
and to the extent possible, quantitatively as well.
Use the observed cpi inflation data for 2022 to qualitatively evaluate and compare
forecasts generated by the MEMs to the forecasts you generated in Research Report 1.
Next, compare the forecasts for 2023 generated by MEMs to the same period forecasts
generated in Research Report 1.
Finally, use the full available sample (1990Q3—2022Q4) to forecast cpi inflation for
2023 using MEMs. How do these forecasts change relative to those produced for the
same period (2023) but only using data up to 2021Q4?
The break down of marks for this question is as follows (total 50 marks):
forecast model identification (10 marks);
forecasts computation (10 marks);
forecast evaluation and comparison (10 marks);
interpretation and inference (10 marks);
writing and organisation (10 marks).
2. Use the data provided to obtain inference on the possible effects of monetary policy
on the economy using MEMs. In particular, consider a one-time structural shock to
the cash rate and analyse the dynamic effects of such a shock on cpi inflation and
unemployment rate. You should consider the possible effects that may result in the
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short-run, the medium-run and the long-run. In answering these questions, please con-
sider implications for policy, and in doing so, describe the various sources of uncertainty
that may affect your inference.
In addition, please compare the inference regarding dynamic effects on cpi inflation
obtained from MEMs above to the inference obtained in Research Report 1, Question
2. Please consider how results compare across different classes of models using the same
sample (1990Q3–2021Q4). Please also consider how results compare when obtained
from the full sample (1990Q3–2022Q4) relative to those obtained from the shorter
sample (1990Q3–2021Q4).
The break down of marks for this question is as follows (total 50 marks):
model identification (10 marks);
estimation and testing (10 marks);
assumptions and identifying restrictions (10 marks);
interpretation and inference (10 marks);
writing and organisation (10 marks).