Macroeconomic Determinants of the Term Structure: Long-Run and Short-Run Dynamics

50 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2015 Last revised: 7 Jul 2020

See all articles by Hitesh Doshi

Hitesh Doshi

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business

Kris Jacobs

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business

Rui Liu

Duquesne University - Palumbo Donahue School of Business

Date Written: May 29, 2018

Abstract

We propose a no-arbitrage term structure model with a Taylor rule and two macroeconomic variables, real activity growth and inflation, that each contain long-run and short-run components. Variance decompositions indicate that the impact of macroeconomic variables on the term structure differs from existing models. For short maturities, inflation is relatively more important than real activity growth at short forecast horizons. For longer maturity yields, the long-run component of inflation explains most of the long-horizon forecast variance, but real activity growth matters for short forecast horizons. Unlike existing macro models, the model implies plausible term premia and expectations of short rates. The long-run components also improve the prediction of bond excess returns relative to information in the yield curve and macro variables. Measures of in-sample and out-of-sample ft confirm the benefits of allowing for long- and short-run components.

Keywords: term structure; inflation; real activity growth; long-run component; filtering

JEL Classification: G12, E43, E44

Suggested Citation

Doshi, Hitesh and Jacobs, Kris and Liu, Rui, Macroeconomic Determinants of the Term Structure: Long-Run and Short-Run Dynamics (May 29, 2018). Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 48, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2561026 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2561026

Hitesh Doshi

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business ( email )

Houston, TX 77204-6021
United States

Kris Jacobs (Contact Author)

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business ( email )

Houston, TX 77204-6021
United States

Rui Liu

Duquesne University - Palumbo Donahue School of Business ( email )

811 Rockwell Hall 600 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
United States

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