Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia

This paper addresses the creation of a nowcasting model for economic activity in Croatia. While considering the characteristics of a small, open economy incorporated in a larger economic unit, it emphasises, alongside domestic hard and soft indicators, the importance of using foreign indicators of s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mateo Ljubišić
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Public Finance 2025-01-01
Series:Public Sector Economics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/479889
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850225629035757568
author Mateo Ljubišić
author_facet Mateo Ljubišić
author_sort Mateo Ljubišić
collection DOAJ
description This paper addresses the creation of a nowcasting model for economic activity in Croatia. While considering the characteristics of a small, open economy incorporated in a larger economic unit, it emphasises, alongside domestic hard and soft indicators, the importance of using foreign indicators of short-term movements. By comparing factor models, including both the static method of principal components and dynamic methods of quasi-maximum likelihood and two-step estimation approaches, the paper aims to identify a model that accurately describes short-term GDP movements. The results indicate that structural factor extraction from two or three clusters of indicators combined with the simple method of principal components yields the best results. Such timely insights are crucial for decision-making at all levels, especially for fiscal policymakers in a recent entrant to the monetary union.
format Article
id doaj-art-be7e990a7fff45478781dc877844985e
institution OA Journals
issn 2459-8860
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Institute of Public Finance
record_format Article
series Public Sector Economics
spelling doaj-art-be7e990a7fff45478781dc877844985e2025-08-20T02:05:18ZengInstitute of Public FinancePublic Sector Economics2459-88602025-01-0149218521110.3326/pse.49.2.1Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of CroatiaMateo Ljubišić0Croatian National Bank, Zagreb, CroatiaThis paper addresses the creation of a nowcasting model for economic activity in Croatia. While considering the characteristics of a small, open economy incorporated in a larger economic unit, it emphasises, alongside domestic hard and soft indicators, the importance of using foreign indicators of short-term movements. By comparing factor models, including both the static method of principal components and dynamic methods of quasi-maximum likelihood and two-step estimation approaches, the paper aims to identify a model that accurately describes short-term GDP movements. The results indicate that structural factor extraction from two or three clusters of indicators combined with the simple method of principal components yields the best results. Such timely insights are crucial for decision-making at all levels, especially for fiscal policymakers in a recent entrant to the monetary union.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/479889nowcastinggdpfactor extractiontimely information,decision-makingcroatia
spellingShingle Mateo Ljubišić
Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
Public Sector Economics
nowcasting
gdp
factor extraction
timely information,decision-making
croatia
title Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
title_full Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
title_fullStr Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
title_full_unstemmed Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
title_short Guiding through uncertainty: nowcasting the GDP of Croatia
title_sort guiding through uncertainty nowcasting the gdp of croatia
topic nowcasting
gdp
factor extraction
timely information,decision-making
croatia
url https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/479889
work_keys_str_mv AT mateoljubisic guidingthroughuncertaintynowcastingthegdpofcroatia