The role of stickiness, extrapolation and past consensus forecasts in macroeconomic expectations

We propose a simple model of expectation formation with three distinct deviations from fully rational expectations. In particular, forecasters' expectations are sticky, extrapolate the most recent news about the current period, and depend on the lagged consensus forecast about the period being...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hagenhoff, Tim (Author) , Lustenhouwer, Joep (Author)
Format: Book/Monograph Working Paper
Language:English
Published: Heidelberg University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics 29 Juli 2020
Series:Discussion paper series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics no. 686
In: Discussion paper series (no. 686)

DOI:10.11588/heidok.00028722
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Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/28722/1/Hagenhoff_Lustenhouwer_2020_dp686.pdf
Resolving-System, kostenfrei: https://doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00028722
Resolving-System, kostenfrei: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/235009
Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-287229
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Author Notes:Tim Hagenhoff and Joep Lustenhouwer
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Summary:We propose a simple model of expectation formation with three distinct deviations from fully rational expectations. In particular, forecasters' expectations are sticky, extrapolate the most recent news about the current period, and depend on the lagged consensus forecast about the period being forecast. We find that all three biases are present in the Survey of Professional Forecaster as well as in the Livingston Survey, and that their magnitudes depend on the forecasting horizon. Moreover, in an over-identified econometric specification, we find that the restriction on coefficients implied by our model is always close to being satisfied and in most cases not rejected. We also stress the point that using the past consensus forecast to form expectations is a rather smart thing to do if cognitive limitations and biases cause any attempt to build an own rational forecast to fail.
Physical Description:Online Resource
DOI:10.11588/heidok.00028722