GASX models

Introduction

GASX models extend GAS models by including exogenous factors \(X\). For a conditional observation density \(p\left(y_{t}\mid{\theta_{t}}\right)\) with an observation \(y_{t}\) and a latent time-varying parameter \(\theta_{t}\), we assume the parameter \(\theta_{t}\) follows the recursion:

\[\theta_{t} = \mu + \sum^{K}_{k=1}\beta_{k}X_{t,k} + \sum^{p}_{i=1}\phi_{i}\theta_{t-i} + \sum^{q}_{j=1}\alpha_{j}S\left(x_{j-1}\right)\frac{\partial\log p\left(y_{t-j}\mid{\theta_{t-j}}\right) }{\partial{\theta_{t-j}}}\]

For example, for the Poisson family, where the default scaling is \(\exp\left(\theta_{t}\right)\), the time-varying latent variable follows:

\[\theta_{t} = \mu + \sum^{K}_{k=1}\beta_{k}X_{t,k} + \sum^{p}_{i=1}\phi_{i}\theta_{t-i} + \sum^{q}_{j=1}\alpha_{j}\left(\frac{y_{t-j}}{\exp\left(\theta_{t-j}\right)} - 1\right)\]

The model can be viewed as an approximation to a non-linear ARIMAX model.

Example

Below we estimate the \(\beta\) for a stock – the systematic (market) component of returns – using a heavy tailed distribution and some short-term autoregressive effects. First let’s load some data:

from pandas_datareader.data import DataReader
from datetime import datetime

a = DataReader('AMZN',  'yahoo', datetime(2012,1,1), datetime(2016,6,1))
a_returns = pd.DataFrame(np.diff(np.log(a['Adj Close'].values)))
a_returns.index = a.index.values[1:a.index.values.shape[0]]
a_returns.columns = ["Amazon Returns"]

spy = DataReader('SPY',  'yahoo', datetime(2012,1,1), datetime(2016,6,1))
spy_returns = pd.DataFrame(np.diff(np.log(spy['Adj Close'].values)))
spy_returns.index = spy.index.values[1:spy.index.values.shape[0]]
spy_returns.columns = ['S&P500 Returns']

one_mon = DataReader('DGS1MO', 'fred',datetime(2012,1,1), datetime(2016,6,1))
one_day = np.log(1+one_mon)/365

returns = pd.concat([one_day,a_returns,spy_returns],axis=1).dropna()
excess_m = returns["Amazon Returns"].values - returns['DGS1MO'].values
excess_spy = returns["S&P500 Returns"].values - returns['DGS1MO'].values
final_returns = pd.DataFrame(np.transpose([excess_m,excess_spy, returns['DGS1MO'].values]))
final_returns.columns=["Amazon","SP500","Risk-free rate"]
final_returns.index = returns.index

plt.figure(figsize=(15,5))
plt.title("Excess Returns")
x = plt.plot(final_returns);
plt.legend(iter(x), final_returns.columns);

Below we estimate a point mass estimate \(z^{MLE}\) of the latent variables for a \(GASX(1,1)\) model:

model = pf.GASX(formula="Amazon~SP500",data=final_returns,ar=1,sc=1,family=pf.GASSkewt())
x = model.fit()
x.summary()

Skewt GASX(1,0,1)
======================================== =================================================
Dependent Variable: Amazon               Method: MLE
Start Date: 2012-01-05 00:00:00          Log Likelihood: 3165.9237
End Date: 2016-06-01 00:00:00            AIC: -6317.8474
Number of observations: 1100             BIC: -6282.8259
==========================================================================================
Latent Variable           Estimate   Std Error  z        P>|z|    95% C.I.
========================= ========== ========== ======== ======== ========================
AR(1)                     0.0807     0.0202     3.9956   0.0001   (0.0411 | 0.1203)
SC(1)                     -0.0       0.0187     -0.0001  0.9999   (-0.0367 | 0.0367)
Beta 1                    -0.0005    0.0249     -0.0184  0.9853   (-0.0493 | 0.0484)
Beta SP500                1.2683     0.0426     29.7473  0.0      (1.1848 | 1.3519)
Skewness                  1.017
Skewt Scale               0.0093
v                         2.7505
==========================================================================================
WARNING: Skew t distribution is not well-suited for MLE or MAP inference
Workaround 1: Use a t-distribution instead for MLE/MAP
Workaround 2: Use M-H or BBVI inference for Skew t distribution

The results table warns us about using the Skew t distribution. This choice of family can sometimes be unstable, so we may want to opt for a t-distribution instead. But in this case, we seem to have obtained sensible results. We can plot the constant and the GAS latent variables by referencing their indices with plot_z():

model.plot_z(indices=[0,1,2])

Similarly we can plot \(\beta\):

model.plot_z(indices=[3])

Our \(\beta_{AMZN}\) estimate is above 1.0 (fairly strong systematic risk). Let us plot the model fit and the systematic component of returns with plot_fit():

model.plot_fit(figsize=(15,10))

Class Description

class GASX(data, formula, ar, sc, integ, target, family)

Generalized Autoregressive Score Exogenous Variable Models (GASX).

Parameter	Type	Description
data	pd.DataFrame or np.ndarray	Contains the univariate time series
formula	string	Patsy notation specifying the regression
ar	int	The number of autoregressive lags
sc	int	The number of score function lags
integ	int	How many times to difference the data (default: 0)
target	string or int	Which column of DataFrame/array to use.
family	pf.Family instance	The distribution for the time series, e.g pf.Normal()

Attributes

latent_variables

A pf.LatentVariables() object containing information on the model latent variables, prior settings. any fitted values, starting values, and other latent variable information. When a model is fitted, this is where the latent variables are updated/stored. Please see the documentation on Latent Variables for information on attributes within this object, as well as methods for accessing the latent variable information.

Methods

adjust_prior(index, prior)

Adjusts the priors for the model latent variables. The latent variables and their indices can be viewed by printing the latent_variables attribute attached to the model instance.

Parameter	Type	Description
index	int	Index of the latent variable to change
prior	pf.Family instance	Prior distribution, e.g. pf.Normal()

Returns: void - changes the model latent_variables attribute

fit(method, **kwargs)

Estimates latent variables for the model. User chooses an inference option and the method returns a results object, as well as updating the model’s latent_variables attribute.

Parameter	Type	Description
method	str	Inference option: e.g. ‘M-H’ or ‘MLE’

See Bayesian Inference and Classical Inference sections of the documentation for the full list of inference options. Optional parameters can be entered that are relevant to the particular mode of inference chosen.

Returns: pf.Results instance with information for the estimated latent variables

plot_fit(**kwargs)

Plots the fit of the model against the data. Optional arguments include figsize, the dimensions of the figure to plot.

Returns : void - shows a matplotlib plot

plot_ppc(T, nsims)

Plots a histogram for a posterior predictive check with a discrepancy measure of the user’s choosing. This method only works if you have fitted using Bayesian inference.

Parameter	Type	Description
T	function	Discrepancy, e.g. np.mean or np.max
nsims	int	How many simulations for the PPC

Returns: void - shows a matplotlib plot

plot_predict(h, oos_data, past_values, intervals, **kwargs)

Plots predictions of the model, along with intervals.

Parameter	Type	Description
h	int	How many steps to forecast ahead
oos_data	pd.DataFrame	Exogenous variables in a frame for h steps
past_values	int	How many past datapoints to plot
intervals	boolean	Whether to plot intervals or not

To be clear, the oos_data argument should be a DataFrame in the same format as the initial dataframe used to initialize the model instance. The reason is that to predict future values, you need to specify assumptions about exogenous variables for the future. For example, if you predict h steps ahead, the method will take the h first rows from oos_data and take the values for the exogenous variables that you asked for in the patsy formula.

Optional arguments include figsize - the dimensions of the figure to plot. Please note that if you use Maximum Likelihood or Variational Inference, the intervals shown will not reflect latent variable uncertainty. Only Metropolis-Hastings will give you fully Bayesian prediction intervals. Bayesian intervals with variational inference are not shown because of the limitation of mean-field inference in not accounting for posterior correlations.

Returns : void - shows a matplotlib plot

plot_predict_is(h, fit_once, fit_method, **kwargs)

Plots in-sample rolling predictions for the model. This means that the user pretends a last subsection of data is out-of-sample, and forecasts after each period and assesses how well they did. The user can choose whether to fit parameters once at the beginning or every time step.

Parameter	Type	Description
h	int	How many previous timesteps to use
fit_once	boolean	Whether to fit once, or every timestep
fit_method	str	Which inference option, e.g. ‘MLE’

Optional arguments include figsize - the dimensions of the figure to plot. h is an int of how many previous steps to simulate performance on.

Returns : void - shows a matplotlib plot

plot_sample(nsims, plot_data=True)

Plots samples from the posterior predictive density of the model. This method only works if you fitted the model using Bayesian inference.

Parameter	Type	Description
nsims	int	How many samples to draw
plot_data	boolean	Whether to plot the real data as well

Returns : void - shows a matplotlib plot

plot_z(indices, figsize)

Returns a plot of the latent variables and their associated uncertainty.

Parameter	Type	Description
indices	int or list	Which latent variable indices to plot
figsize	tuple	Size of the matplotlib figure

Returns : void - shows a matplotlib plot

ppc(T, nsims)

Returns a p-value for a posterior predictive check. This method only works if you have fitted using Bayesian inference.

Parameter	Type	Description
T	function	Discrepancy, e.g. np.mean or np.max
nsims	int	How many simulations for the PPC

Returns: int - the p-value for the discrepancy test

predict(h, oos_data, intervals=False)

Returns a DataFrame of model predictions.

Parameter	Type	Description
h	int	How many steps to forecast ahead
oos_data	pd.DataFrame	Exogenous variables in a frame for h steps
intervals	boolean	Whether to return prediction intervals

To be clear, the oos_data argument should be a DataFrame in the same format as the initial dataframe used to initialize the model instance. The reason is that to predict future values, you need to specify assumptions about exogenous variables for the future. For example, if you predict h steps ahead, the method will take the 5 first rows from oos_data and take the values for the exogenous variables that you specified as exogenous variables in the patsy formula.

Please note that if you use Maximum Likelihood or Variational Inference, the intervals shown will not reflect latent variable uncertainty. Only Metropolis-Hastings will give you fully Bayesian prediction intervals. Bayesian intervals with variational inference are not shown because of the limitation of mean-field inference in not accounting for posterior correlations.

Returns : pd.DataFrame - the model predictions

predict_is(h, fit_once, fit_method)

Returns DataFrame of in-sample rolling predictions for the model.

Parameter	Type	Description
h	int	How many previous timesteps to use
fit_once	boolean	Whether to fit once, or every timestep
fit_method	str	Which inference option, e.g. ‘MLE’

Returns : pd.DataFrame - the model predictions

sample(nsims)

Returns np.ndarray of draws of the data from the posterior predictive density. This method only works if you have fitted the model using Bayesian inference.

Parameter	Type	Description
nsims	int	How many posterior draws to take

Returns : np.ndarray - samples from the posterior predictive density.

References

Creal, D; Koopman, S.J.; Lucas, A. (2013). Generalized Autoregressive Score Models with Applications. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 28(5), 777–795. doi:10.1002/jae.1279.

Harvey, A.C. (2013). Dynamic Models for Volatility and Heavy Tails: With Applications to Financial and Economic Time Series. Cambridge University Press.