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Predicting Czech Economic Activity Using Toll Data
Učňová, Jana ; Kocourek, David (advisor) ; Šestořád, Tomáš (referee)
Many analysts coincide that transportation is closely linked to economic activity. How- ever, data containing information about transportation have not been part of their re- search for a long time. Introduction of electronic toll collection systems in recent years led to a new source of data containing information about truck transport. This thesis aims to examine the ability of seasonally adjusted toll data to predict Czech economic activity. Economic activity is represented by four variables - real GDP, nominal GDP, in- dustrial production index and the volume of foreign trade. Seven models - five dynamic models, ARIMA model, and regression with ARIMA error - are constructed for each dependent variable. These models are then compared using both Akaike and Bayesian information criterion and the most appropriate model for each dependent variable is selected. It was concluded that both real GDP and industrial production index can be predicted using toll data. Both the number of kilometers travelled, and the amount of toll collected seems to be good predictors of economic activity. Particularly, data con- taining information about toll collected might be more beneficial because the amount of toll collected in given quarter can even predict economic activity in the next quarter. 1
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Forecasting and nowcasting power of confidence indikators:Evidence for Central Europe
Herrmannová, Lenka ; Horváth, Roman (advisor) ; Mikolášek, Jakub (referee)
This thesis assesses the usefulness of confidence indicators for nowcasting and short term forecasting of the economic activity in the Czech Republic and three other Central European countries. The predictive power of both the Czech business confidence indicator and the customer confidence indicator is examined using two empirical approaches. First we predict the likelihood of economic downturn using logit models, later we estimate GDP growth out of sample forecasts in the framework of vector autoregression models. The results obtained from the downturn probability models confirm the ability of confidence indicators (especially the business confidence indicator) to estimate the current economic situation, so called nowcast. Results from the out-of-sample GDP growth value forecasting are ambiguous. Nevertheless the customer confidence indicator significantly improved original forecasts based on the model with standard macroeconomic variables and therefore we conclude in favour of its predictive power. Cross- country comparison confirms economic downturn nowcasting power of confidence indices in Hungary and Poland and fails to confirm such an ability of Slovak confidence indicators. One-quarter-ahead forecasts brought mixed results and therefore we conclude that nowcasting and forecasting properties of...
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Utilization of Radar Echo Extrapolation for Quantitative Precipitation Forecast
Frolík, Petr ; Novák, Petr (advisor) ; Žák, Michal (referee)
Title: Utilization of radar echo extrapolation for quantitative precipitation forecast Author: Petr Frolík Department: Department of Meteorology and Enviroment Protection Supervisor: RNDr. Petr Novák, PhD., ČHMÚ Supervisor's e-mail address: petr_novak@chmi.cz Abstract: At present time weather radar data are essential for national meteorological services. Utilization of this data for quantitative precipitation forecast and severe weather prediction for short period (nowcasting) becomes more and more common. Increasing interest for quantitative precipitation forecasts can be noticed in hydrological applications, where it can give early warning on flash floods and can improve large scale precipitation forecasts. This paper verifies usability of COTREC nowcasting method based on extrapolation of radar echo for quantitative precipitation forecast. Quality of COTREC forecast up to 3 hours was investigated on data from 1.4.2006 to 30.9.2006. Comparison of COTREC method with Aladin NWP model forecasts was also made. Hourly mean precipitation estimates on catchments were chosen for comparison because of verification focused mainly on utilization of the forecasts in hydrological applications. Forecasted precipitation estimates were compared with optimal operationally available precipitation estimate - adjusted radar...
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Nowcasting the Czech Trade Balance
Babecká Kucharčuková, Oxana ; Brůha, Jan
The Working Paper Series of the Czech National Bank (CNB) is intended to disseminate the results of the CNB’s research projects as well as the other research activities of both the staff of the CNB and collaborating outside contributors, including invited speakers. The Series aims to present original research contributions relevant to central banks. It is refereed internationally. The referee process is managed by the CNB Research Department. The working papers are circulated to stimulate discussion. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the CNB.
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Nowcasting Czech GDP in Real Time
Rusnák, Marek
The prominent measure of the current state of the Czech economy, gross domestic product (GDP), is available only with a significant lag of roughly 70 days. In this paper, we employ a Dynamic Factor Model (DFM) to nowcast Czech GDP in real time. Using multiple vintages of historical data and taking into account the publication lags of various monthly indicators, we evaluate the real-time performance of the DFM over the 2005– 2012 period. The results suggest that the accuracy of model-based nowcasts is comparable to that of the judgmental nowcasts of the Czech National Bank (CNB). Our results also suggest that foreign variables are crucial for the accuracy of the model, while omitting financial and confidence indicators does not worsen the nowcasting performance. Finally, we show how releases of new data can be viewed through the lens of the dynamic factor model.
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