Forecasting correlations during the late-2000s financial crisis: The short-run component, the long-run component, and structural breaks

The predictive power of recently introduced components affecting correlations is investigated. The focus is on models allowing for a flexible specification of the short-run component of correlations as well as the long-run component. Moreover, models allowing the correlation dynamics to be subjected to regime-shift caused by threshold-based structural breaks of a different nature are also considered. The results indicate that in some cases there may be a superimposition of the long-term and short-term movements in correlations. Therefore, care is called for in interpretations when estimating the two components. Testing the forecasting accuracy of correlations during the late-2000s financial crisis yields mixed results. In general, component models allowing for a richer correlation specification possess an increased predictive accuracy. Economically speaking, no relevant gains are found by allowing for more flexibility in the correlation dynamics.