nep-for New Economics Papers
on Forecasting
Issue of 2024‒06‒24
three papers chosen by
Rob J Hyndman, Monash University


  1. Review of deep learning models for crypto price prediction: implementation and evaluation By Jingyang Wu; Xinyi Zhang; Fangyixuan Huang; Haochen Zhou; Rohtiash Chandra
  2. Multivariate macroeconomic forecasting: From DSGE and BVAR to artificial neural networks By Tänzer, Alina
  3. Generating density nowcasts for U.S. GDP growth with deep learning: Bayes by Backprop and Monte Carlo dropout By Krist\'of N\'emeth; D\'aniel Hadh\'azi

  1. By: Jingyang Wu; Xinyi Zhang; Fangyixuan Huang; Haochen Zhou; Rohtiash Chandra
    Abstract: There has been much interest in accurate cryptocurrency price forecast models by investors and researchers. Deep Learning models are prominent machine learning techniques that have transformed various fields and have shown potential for finance and economics. Although various deep learning models have been explored for cryptocurrency price forecasting, it is not clear which models are suitable due to high market volatility. In this study, we review the literature about deep learning for cryptocurrency price forecasting and evaluate novel deep learning models for cryptocurrency stock price prediction. Our deep learning models include variants of long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks, variants of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and the Transformer model. We evaluate univariate and multivariate approaches for multi-step ahead predicting of cryptocurrencies close-price. Our results show that the univariate LSTM model variants perform best for cryptocurrency predictions. We also carry out volatility analysis on the four cryptocurrencies which reveals significant fluctuations in their prices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we investigate the prediction accuracy of two scenarios identified by different training sets for the models. First, we use the pre-COVID-19 datasets to model cryptocurrency close-price forecasting during the early period of COVID-19. Secondly, we utilise data from the COVID-19 period to predict prices for 2023 to 2024.
    Date: 2024–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.11431&r=
  2. By: Tänzer, Alina
    Abstract: This paper contributes a multivariate forecasting comparison between structural models and Machine-Learning-based tools. Specifically, a fully connected feed forward nonlinear autoregressive neural network (ANN) is contrasted to a well established dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, a Bayesian vector autoregression (BVAR) using optimized priors as well as Greenbook and SPF forecasts. Model estimation and forecasting is based on an expanding window scheme using quarterly U.S. real-time data (1964Q2:2020Q3) for 8 macroeconomic time series (GDP, inflation, federal funds rate, spread, consumption, investment, wage, hours worked), allowing for up to 8 quarter ahead forecasts. The results show that the BVAR improves forecasts compared to the DSGE model, however there is evidence for an overall improvement of predictions when relying on ANN, or including them in a weighted average. Especially, ANNbased inflation forecasts improve other predictions by up to 50%. These results indicate that nonlinear data-driven ANNs are a useful method when it comes to macroeconomic forecasting.
    Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Forecast Comparison/ Competition, Macroeconomic Forecasting, Crises Forecasting, Inflation Forecasting, Interest Rate Forecasting, Production, Saving, Consumption and Investment Forecasting
    Date: 2024
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:imfswp:295733&r=
  3. By: Krist\'of N\'emeth; D\'aniel Hadh\'azi
    Abstract: Recent results in the literature indicate that artificial neural networks (ANNs) can outperform the dynamic factor model (DFM) in terms of the accuracy of GDP nowcasts. Compared to the DFM, the performance advantage of these highly flexible, nonlinear estimators is particularly evident in periods of recessions and structural breaks. From the perspective of policy-makers, however, nowcasts are the most useful when they are conveyed with uncertainty attached to them. While the DFM and other classical time series approaches analytically derive the predictive (conditional) distribution for GDP growth, ANNs can only produce point nowcasts based on their default training procedure (backpropagation). To fill this gap, first in the literature, we adapt two different deep learning algorithms that enable ANNs to generate density nowcasts for U.S. GDP growth: Bayes by Backprop and Monte Carlo dropout. The accuracy of point nowcasts, defined as the mean of the empirical predictive distribution, is evaluated relative to a naive constant growth model for GDP and a benchmark DFM specification. Using a 1D CNN as the underlying ANN architecture, both algorithms outperform those benchmarks during the evaluation period (2012:Q1 -- 2022:Q4). Furthermore, both algorithms are able to dynamically adjust the location (mean), scale (variance), and shape (skew) of the empirical predictive distribution. The results indicate that both Bayes by Backprop and Monte Carlo dropout can effectively augment the scope and functionality of ANNs, rendering them a fully compatible and competitive alternative for classical time series approaches.
    Date: 2024–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.15579&r=

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