Improving Macroeconomic Forecasts and Stabilisation Policies Using High-Frequency Data

Good stabilisation policies require up-to-date inputs in terms of an assessment of the current state of the economy and forecasts of its development. This is particularly important when large shocks hits the economy and stabilisation policy is expected to play a larger role than normally is the case. A large share of the models and tools used by policymakers does not meet these requirements as they are based on low frequency data, typically quarterly. This project therefore aims to contribute to improving the inputs of the stabilisation policy process by evaluating the nowcasting and forecasting performance of so-called mixed frequency models – a set of tools that can contribute to better forecasts and assessments of the current state of the economy.