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Inference in High-Dimensional Linear Projections: Multi-Horizon Granger Causality and Network Connectedness

Eugene Dettaa, Endong Wang

arXiv 6 Oct 2024 · Econometrics

arXiv:2410.04330 · PDF · DOI · OpenAlex · Extracted main text

Abstract

This paper presents a Wald test for multi-horizon Granger causality within a high-dimensional sparse Vector Autoregression (VAR) framework. The null hypothesis focuses on the causal coefficients of interest in a local projection (LP) at a given horizon. Nevertheless, the post-double-selection method on LP may not be applicable in this context, as a sparse VAR model does not necessarily imply a sparse LP for horizon h>1. To validate the proposed test, we develop two types of de-biased estimators for the causal coefficients of interest, both relying on first-step machine learning estimators of the VAR slope parameters. The first estimator is derived from the Least Squares method, while the second is obtained through a two-stage approach that offers potential efficiency gains. We further derive heteroskedasticity- and autocorrelation-consistent (HAC) inference for each estimator. Additionally, we propose a robust inference method for the two-stage estimator, eliminating the need to correct for serial correlation in the projection residuals. Monte Carlo simulations show that the two-stage estimator with robust inference outperforms the Least Squares method in terms of the Wald test size, particularly for longer projection horizons. We apply our methodology to analyze the interconnectedness of policy-related economic uncertainty among a large set of countries in both the short and long run. Specifically, we construct a causal network to visualize how economic uncertainty spreads across countries over time. Our empirical findings reveal, among other insights, that in the short run (1 and 3 months), the U.S. influences China, while in the long run (9 and 12 months), China influences the U.S. Identifying these connections can help anticipate a country's potential vulnerabilities and propose proactive solutions to mitigate the transmission of economic uncertainty.

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Most heavily cited references

The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.

ReferenceIntensityMentionsSectionsMain text
1Dufour, Jean-Marie and Wang, Endong (2024) Simple Robust Two-stage Estimation and Inference for Generalized Impulse Responses and Multi-horizon Causality self1.00053100%
2Hecq, Alain and Margaritella, Luca and Smeekes, Stephan (2023) Granger causality testing in high-dimensional VARs: a post-double-selection procedure0.92843100%
3Dufour, Jean-Marie and Renault, Eric (1998) Short run and long run causality in time series: theory0.87452100%
4Krampe, Jonas and Paparoditis, Efstathios and Trenkler, Carsten (2023) Structural inference in sparse high-dimensional vector autoregressions0.8435460%
5Diebold, Francis X and Yilmaz, Kamil (2014) On the network topology of variance decompositions: Measuring the connectedness of financial firms0.84333100%
6Adamek, Robert and Smeekes, Stephan and Wilms, Ines (2023) Lasso inference for high-dimensional time series0.73732100%
7Montiel Olea, José Luis and Plagborg-Møller, Mikkel (2021) Local projection inference is simpler and more robust than you think0.73732100%
8Babii, Andrii and Ghysels, Eric and Striaukas, Jonas (2024) High-dimensional Granger causality tests with an application to VIX and news0.64422100%
9Basu, Sumanta and Michailidis, George (2015) REGULARIZED ESTIMATION IN SPARSE HIGH-DIMENSIONAL TIME SERIES MODELS0.64422100%
10Belloni, Alexandre and Chen, Daniel and Chernozhukov, Victor and Han… (2012) Sparse models and methods for optimal instruments with an application to eminent domain0.64422100%

Showing the top 10 of 38 scored citations.