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Download the Paper (250 K, PDF file) - May 1, 2001 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing.

ABSTRACT:
In this paper we compare the relative efficiency of different methods of forecasting the aggregate of spatially correlated variables. Small sample simulations confirm the asymptotic result that improved forecasting performance can be obtained by imposing a priori constraints on the amount of spatial correlation in the system. One way to do so is to aggregate forecasts from a Space-Time Autoregressive model (Cliff et al., 1975), which offers a solution to the 'curse of dimensionality' that arises when forecasting with VARs. We also show that ignoring spatial correlation, even when it is weak, leads to highly inaccurate forecasts. Finally, if the system satisfies a 'poolability' condition, there is a benefit in forecasting the aggregate variable directly.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Raffaella Giacomini and Clive W.J. Granger, "Aggregationn of Space-Time Processes" (May 1, 2001). Department of Economics, UCSD. Paper 2001-07.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/ucsdecon/2001-07