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What׳s news in News? A cautionary note on using a variance decomposition to assess the quantitative importance of news shocks

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  • Sims, Eric

Abstract

This paper points out a conceptual difficulty in using a variance decomposition to assess the quantitative importance of news shocks. A variance decomposition will attribute to news shocks movements in endogenous variables driven both by news about future exogenous fundamentals that has yet to materialize (what I call “pure news”) as well as movements driven by realized changes in fundamentals that were anticipated in the past (what I call “realized news”). I present a stylized model in which news about yet unrealized changes in fundamentals is irrelevant for output dynamics, but in which a variance decomposition may nevertheless attribute a large share of the variance of output to news shocks. I then revisit the quantitative importance of news in the model of Schmitt-Grohe and Uribe (2012). In their model news shocks account for 40 percent of the variance of output growth, but this is mostly driven by realized news.

Suggested Citation

  • Sims, Eric, 2016. "What׳s news in News? A cautionary note on using a variance decomposition to assess the quantitative importance of news shocks," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 41-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:73:y:2016:i:c:p:41-60
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jedc.2016.09.005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Danilo Cascaldi-Garcia & Marija Vukotic, 2022. "Patent-Based News Shocks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(1), pages 51-66, March.
    3. Hirose, Yasuo & Kurozumi, Takushi, 2021. "Identifying News Shocks With Forecast Data," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(6), pages 1442-1471, September.
    4. Christoffel, Kai & de Groot, Oliver & Mazelis, Falk & Montes-Galdón, Carlos, 2020. "Using forecast-augmented VAR evidence to dampen the forward guidance puzzle," Working Paper Series 2495, European Central Bank.
    5. Christopher M. Gunn & Alok Johri & Marc-Andre Letendre, 2019. "Charge-offs, Defaults and U.S. Business Cycles," Department of Economics Working Papers 2019-06, McMaster University.
    6. Miyamoto, Wataru & Nguyen, Thuy Lan, 2020. "The expectational effects of news in business cycles: Evidence from forecast data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 184-200.
    7. Liao, Shian-Yu & Chen, Been-Lon, 2023. "News shocks to investment-specific technology in business cycles," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    8. Le, Vo Phuong Mai & Meenagh, David & Minford, Patrick, 2020. "News and why it is not shocking: The role of micro-foundations," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    News shocks; Variance decomposition;

    JEL classification:

    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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