<p>This doctoral thesis is comprised of four papers that all relate to the subject of Time Series Analysis.</p><p>The first paper of the thesis considers point estimation in a nonnegative, hence non-Gaussian, AR(1) model. The parameter estimation is carried out using a type of extreme value estimators (EVEs). A novel estimation method based on the EVEs is presented. The theoretical analysis is complemented with Monte Carlo simulation results and the paper is concluded by an empirical example.</p><p>The second paper extends the model of the first paper of the thesis and considers semiparametric, robust point estimation in a nonlinear nonnegative autoregression. The nonnegative AR(1) model of the first paper is extended in three important ways: First, we allow the errors to be serially correlated. Second, we allow for heteroskedasticity of unknown form. Third, we allow for a multi-variable mapping of previous observations. Once more, the EVEs used for parameter estimation are shown to be strongly consistent under very general conditions. The theoretical analysis is complemented with extensive Monte Carlo simulation studies that illustrate the asymptotic theory and indicate reasonable small sample properties of the proposed estimators.</p><p>In the third paper we construct a simple nonnegative time series model for realized volatility, use the results of the second paper to estimate the proposed model on S&P 500 monthly realized volatilities, and then use the estimated model to make one-month-ahead forecasts. The out-of-sample performance of the proposed model is evaluated against a number of standard models. Various tests and accuracy measures are utilized to evaluate the forecast performances. It is found that forecasts from the nonnegative model perform exceptionally well under the mean absolute error and the mean absolute percentage error forecast accuracy measures.</p><p>In the fourth and last paper of the thesis we construct a multivariate extension of the popular Diebold-Mariano test. Under the null hypothesis of equal predictive accuracy of three or more forecasting models, the proposed test statistic has an asymptotic Chi-squared distribution. To explore whether the behavior of the test in moderate-sized samples can be improved, we also provide a finite-sample correction. A small-scale Monte Carlo study indicates that the proposed test has reasonable size properties in large samples and that it benefits noticeably from the finite-sample correction, even in quite large samples. The paper is concluded by an empirical example that illustrates the practical use of the two tests.</p>

This doctoral thesis is comprised of four papers that all relate to the subject of Time Series Analysis. The first paper of the thesis considers point estimation in a nonnegative, hence non-Gaussian, AR(1) model. The parameter estimation is carried out using a type of extreme value estimators (EVEs). A novel estimation method based on the EVEs is presented. The theoretical analysis is complemented with Monte Carlo simulation results and the paper is concluded by an empirical example. The second paper extends the model of the first paper of the thesis and considers semiparametric, robust point estimation in a nonlinear nonnegative autoregression. The nonnegative AR(1) model of the first paper is extended in three important ways: First, we allow the errors to be serially correlated. Second, we allow for heteroskedasticity of unknown form. Third, we allow for a multi-variable mapping of previous observations. Once more, the EVEs used for parameter estimation are shown to be strongly consistent under very general conditions. The theoretical analysis is complemented with extensive Monte Carlo simulation studies that illustrate the asymptotic theory and indicate reasonable small sample properties of the proposed estimators. In the third paper we construct a simple nonnegative time series model for realized volatility, use the results of the second paper to estimate the proposed model on S&amp;P 500 monthly realized volatilities, and then use the estimated model to make one-month-ahead forecasts. The out-of-sample performance of the proposed model is evaluated against a number of standard models. Various tests and accuracy measures are utilized to evaluate the forecast performances. It is found that forecasts from the nonnegative model perform exceptionally well under the mean absolute error and the mean absolute percentage error forecast accuracy measures. In the fourth and last paper of the thesis we construct a multivariate extension of the popular Diebold-Mariano test. Under the null hypothesis of equal predictive accuracy of three or more forecasting models, the proposed test statistic has an asymptotic Chi-squared distribution. To explore whether the behavior of the test in moderate-sized samples can be improved, we also provide a finite-sample correction. A small-scale Monte Carlo study indicates that the proposed test has reasonable size properties in large samples and that it benefits noticeably from the finite-sample correction, even in quite large samples. The paper is concluded by an empirical example that illustrates the practical use of the two tests.

In this thesis, we focus on a forecasting tool, Martingale Model of Forecast Evolution (MMFE), to model the evolution of forecasts in a production-distribution system. Additive form is performed to represent the evolution process. Variance-Covariance (VCV) matrix is defined to express the forecast updates. The selected demand pattern is stationary and it is normally distributed. It follows an Autoregressive Order-1 (AR(1)) model. Two forecasting procedures are selected to compare the MMFE with. These are MA (Moving average) and ES (Exponential smoothing) methods. A production-distribution model is constructed to represent a two-stage supply chain environment. The performance measures considered in the analyses are the total costs, fill rates and forecast accuracy observed in the operation of the production-distribution system. The goal is to demonstrate the importance of good forecasting in supply chain environments.

Rail transit investments require highest amount of investment costs of all modes and considering the high cost involved, it is particularly important that their performance justifies this high cost and that expectations from these investments are met. Therefore, in the world, it has become an important field of research to study the performances of rail systems in order to assess whether these expectations are met. In Turkey, there is a growing interest in constructing rail transit systems in the cities. However, there has been limited number of studies on the performance of these investments. There are researches on individual systems / yet, there has not been a comprehensive, systematic and comparative evaluation of the rail transit experience of Turkish cities. It is not clear with what expectations these systems are built or whether these expectations are met. There seems to be an urgent need to study these rail investments, with a particular focus on their planning, investment objectives and outcomes. This thesis analyzes the expectations from the rail transit systems in Turkey and answers the question whether these expectations are met. In order to understand the objectives under the planning and decision making processes in the implementation of Turkish rapid rail transport investments, a sample group was selected among the cities currently operating rail transit systems: &amp / #272 / stanbul, Ankara, &amp / #272 / zmir and Bursa. The study sets the objectives in planning and implementing rail transit systems drawn by the answers in the semi-structured interviews. It compares the expectations with the actual outcomes. As the primary indicators of performance, cost and ridership forecast and outcome data are also collected and considered in the comparison. It is found that the main success in all case study cities was the increase in public transport usage after the opening of the rail transit systems. On the other hand, systems performed rather poor in terms of other expectations, such as attaining ridership forecasts, being built within budget, creating an integrated public transport system, traffic reduction, air pollution reduction, improvement of city image, etc. Hence there is a gap between expectations and outcomes.

<p>Volvo in Arvika produces wheel loaders, and the production is based on forecasts. When a machine is ordered, the customer can choose what type of equipment he or she wants, and these equipments are also made forecasts on. This is made by giving each equipment an estimated procentual usage that shows how many of the machines that will use this option. Today two people are working with the forecasts, planer A in Eskilstuna and planer B in Arvika. Planer A makes a forecast based on the historical outcome and planer B then makes adjustments of this based on how many options that are ordered. Volvo in Arvika is having problems with the accuracy of the forecasts and because of this they have got too much in stock. But how big are the forecast deviations, what is the cause of it, in what or which places does the process lack? What can be made to make more accurate forecasts, how can you get a more affective process with less work made? To answer these questions we surveyed the process and analyzed it to find strong and week spots. We found that Planer A has a lack of information about how the forecast influence the stock in Arvika, that she gets pour feedback from production, that Planer B is the only one with knowledge about the forecast work in Arvika. We also made a benchmarking with the factory in Braås to see how they differ. Just like in Arvika there are two people working with the forecasts, but in Braås both of them are located close to the production and they share the options equal. They are also able to fill in for each other if someone would be sick.</p><p>To see how much the forecast differ from market demand, we have analyzed forecast data from nine different options for eight months. It turned out that the automatic calculated forecasts are a bit high and that planner B lower them.</p><p>Our conclusion is that the forecasts should be made only in Arvika, and not as it is today when half of it is made in Eskilstuna. There should also be documents and routines on how the work shall be done. This is to make it easier for people that will do the same job in the future.</p> / <p>Volvo Wheel Loaders (WLO) i Arvika tillverkar hjullastare och gör detta mot prognos. Till hjullastarna finns olika utrustningar som kunden kan välja mellan och även dessa gör Volvo prognoser på. Detta görs genom att de uppskattar hur många procent av maskinerna som kommer använda varje utrustning och lägger in det i ett program. Idag arbetar två personer med prognoserna, planerare A på huvudkontoret i Eskilstuna och planerare B på plats i Arvika. Planerare A gör först prognosen med avseende på historiskt utfall, sedan justerar planerare B dessa gentemot bl.a. orderingång. WLO har problem med träffsäkerheten i sina utrustningsprognoser och detta har medfört höga lagernivåer och därmed bundet kapital. Hur stora är prognosavvikelserna, vad är det som gör att prognoserna blir fel, på vilket eller vilka ställen i processen är det som bristerna uppstår? Vad kan de göra för att få bättre prognoser, hur kan man effektivisera processen så att det blir mindre arbete? För att svara på dessa frågor började vi med att kartlägga prognostiseringsprocessen och sedan analysera den för att få fram svagheter och styrkor. Här fann vi t ex att planerare A inte har någon kunskap om hur prognoserna påverkar lagret i Arvika och att hon får för dålig feedback från produktion, att planerare B är ensam kunnig om prognosarbetet vilket leder till problem när han är sjuk eller borta av andra skäl.</p><p>Sedan gjorde vi även en processjämförelse med Volvo Braås för att se hur de skiljer sig åt. I Braås är det två personer som tar fram prognoserna och de arbetar med hälften av utrustningsnumren var. Båda sitter nära produktion och är även väl insatta i varandras arbete om någon av dem skulle vara borta.</p><p>För att få fram hur prognoserna avviker från utfallet har vi gått igenom prognoshistorik för nio olika typer av utrustningar och sedan gjort beräkningar på det materialet. Det visade sig att prognoserna som automatiskt beräknas ofta ligger för högt och att planerare B sänker dessa.</p><p>Vi har kommit fram till att allt arbetet med prognoserna borde ske på plats i Arvika och inte som i nuläget när hälften görs i Eskilstuna. Man bör även införa rutiner på hur arbetet med prognoserna ska gå till och göra dokument på detta så att det är lättare för personer som ska ta över eller måste sätta sig in hur det fungerar.</p>

Volvo in Arvika produces wheel loaders, and the production is based on forecasts. When a machine is ordered, the customer can choose what type of equipment he or she wants, and these equipments are also made forecasts on. This is made by giving each equipment an estimated procentual usage that shows how many of the machines that will use this option. Today two people are working with the forecasts, planer A in Eskilstuna and planer B in Arvika. Planer A makes a forecast based on the historical outcome and planer B then makes adjustments of this based on how many options that are ordered. Volvo in Arvika is having problems with the accuracy of the forecasts and because of this they have got too much in stock. But how big are the forecast deviations, what is the cause of it, in what or which places does the process lack? What can be made to make more accurate forecasts, how can you get a more affective process with less work made? To answer these questions we surveyed the process and analyzed it to find strong and week spots. We found that Planer A has a lack of information about how the forecast influence the stock in Arvika, that she gets pour feedback from production, that Planer B is the only one with knowledge about the forecast work in Arvika. We also made a benchmarking with the factory in Braås to see how they differ. Just like in Arvika there are two people working with the forecasts, but in Braås both of them are located close to the production and they share the options equal. They are also able to fill in for each other if someone would be sick. To see how much the forecast differ from market demand, we have analyzed forecast data from nine different options for eight months. It turned out that the automatic calculated forecasts are a bit high and that planner B lower them. Our conclusion is that the forecasts should be made only in Arvika, and not as it is today when half of it is made in Eskilstuna. There should also be documents and routines on how the work shall be done. This is to make it easier for people that will do the same job in the future. / Volvo Wheel Loaders (WLO) i Arvika tillverkar hjullastare och gör detta mot prognos. Till hjullastarna finns olika utrustningar som kunden kan välja mellan och även dessa gör Volvo prognoser på. Detta görs genom att de uppskattar hur många procent av maskinerna som kommer använda varje utrustning och lägger in det i ett program. Idag arbetar två personer med prognoserna, planerare A på huvudkontoret i Eskilstuna och planerare B på plats i Arvika. Planerare A gör först prognosen med avseende på historiskt utfall, sedan justerar planerare B dessa gentemot bl.a. orderingång. WLO har problem med träffsäkerheten i sina utrustningsprognoser och detta har medfört höga lagernivåer och därmed bundet kapital. Hur stora är prognosavvikelserna, vad är det som gör att prognoserna blir fel, på vilket eller vilka ställen i processen är det som bristerna uppstår? Vad kan de göra för att få bättre prognoser, hur kan man effektivisera processen så att det blir mindre arbete? För att svara på dessa frågor började vi med att kartlägga prognostiseringsprocessen och sedan analysera den för att få fram svagheter och styrkor. Här fann vi t ex att planerare A inte har någon kunskap om hur prognoserna påverkar lagret i Arvika och att hon får för dålig feedback från produktion, att planerare B är ensam kunnig om prognosarbetet vilket leder till problem när han är sjuk eller borta av andra skäl. Sedan gjorde vi även en processjämförelse med Volvo Braås för att se hur de skiljer sig åt. I Braås är det två personer som tar fram prognoserna och de arbetar med hälften av utrustningsnumren var. Båda sitter nära produktion och är även väl insatta i varandras arbete om någon av dem skulle vara borta. För att få fram hur prognoserna avviker från utfallet har vi gått igenom prognoshistorik för nio olika typer av utrustningar och sedan gjort beräkningar på det materialet. Det visade sig att prognoserna som automatiskt beräknas ofta ligger för högt och att planerare B sänker dessa. Vi har kommit fram till att allt arbetet med prognoserna borde ske på plats i Arvika och inte som i nuläget när hälften görs i Eskilstuna. Man bör även införa rutiner på hur arbetet med prognoserna ska gå till och göra dokument på detta så att det är lättare för personer som ska ta över eller måste sätta sig in hur det fungerar.

Le contrat est un acte de prévision et, à ce titre, les prévisions des parties doivent être prises en compte et respectées. A côté des prévisions contractuelles, une notion existe mais est depuis longtemps méconnue : celle de prévisibilité contractuelle. Fondement de nombreux mécanismes bien connus en droit des contrats, comme le dommage prévisible, la force majeure ou encore l'obligation de modérer le dommage, la prévisibilité contractuelle donne naissance à un devoir contractuel : le devoir de prévision, dont la violation constitue une faute de prévision. Outil de moralisation de la relation contractuelle mais également de respect des attentes des parties et de la force obligatoire du contrat, le devoir de prévision a deux conséquences principales : il donne naissance à une obligation d'informer de ce qu'on a pu prévoir, tant lors de la formation que de l'exécution du contrat, et il impose aux parties de mettre en œuvre les mesures raisonnables nécessaires à la bonne exécution du contrat. / The contract is an act of forecasting and, as such, the forecasts of the parties must be taken into account and respected. Besides that, a notion exists but has long been ignored: the notion of contractual predictability. The foundations of many well-known mechanisms in contract law, such as foreseeable damage, force majeure or the mitigation of damages, contractual foreseeability gives rise to a real contractual duty : the duty of forecasting, sanctioned by a fault of forecast. Tools for moralizing the contractual relationship but also for respecting the expectations of the parties and the force of the contract, the duty of forecasting has two main consequences: it gives rise to an obligation to inform what has been foreseen, during training and the performance of the contract, and it requires the parties to implement the necessary reasonable measures for the proper performance of the contract.

nÃo hà / Neste ensaio investiga-se a perda de conteÃdo dos modelos de previsÃo autoregressivos, na medida em que se alarga o horizonte temporal no qual a variÃvel à estimada. O conteÃdo à medido pela reduÃÃo relativa do erro quadrado mÃdio que o modelo proporciona em comparaÃÃo ao processo simplificado de utilizar a mÃdia incondicional da sÃrie temporal. A variÃvel estudada à a arrecadaÃÃo mensal do Imposto sobre CirculaÃÃo de Mercadorias e ServiÃos (ICMS) proveniente do segmento de energia elÃtrica, no Estado do CearÃ, no perÃodo de janeiro de 1999 a setembro de 2010. Utiliza-se o mÃtodo e o modelo computacional formulados por Galbraith (2003), analisando-se a forecast content function, na qual o conteÃdo depende do nÃmero de perÃodos estimados. Os resultados confirmam que, para a sÃrie temporal explorada, quando se eleva o alcance da previsÃo o conteÃdo decai rapidamente, podendo atingir valor inferior a 10% quando o horizonte da previsÃo chega a 5 meses. Verificou-se, ademais, que o uso de sub-amostras via descarte de perÃodos mais antigos agrava a perda de conteÃdo. / In this essay we investigate the loss of content in autoregressive forecast models, as it is increased the horizon of time in which the variable is estimated. The content is measured as the proportionate reduction in medium squared error (MSE) that the model gives, comparing to the simple process by using the unconditional mean of time series. The variable is the monthly collection of ICMS from electric power sector, in Cearà state, in the period from January 1999 to September 2010. We use the method and computational model formulated by Galbraith (2003), analyzing the forecast content function, in which the content depends on the number of estimated periods. The results confirm that, when it increases the range of forecast the content decays quickly, reaching less than 10% when the forecast horizons reaches 5 months. It was found further that the use of subsamples by discarding oldest periods increases the loss of content.

Theme Master’s thesis was studying of wind energy power supply. Comparison of character of wind power supply in Czech Republic to power supply abroad. Thesis begins with short introduction of historical wind applications. It continues by theory of wind engines, the wind engines construction and its facilities. Next part describes wind energy characteristics and physics. It describes wind speed influence to power supply of wind turbine, a physical limits of wind engines efficiency. Later, meteorological forecast possibilities are mentioned. Following chapter classifies wind power plants by geographical locations and characterizes them. It presents and explains individual cases of wind energy business growth in Czech Republic and other countries. There are also mentioned many suitable locations for wind parks in Czech Republic. There are described data analysis methods in chapter number 5. Analysis results of day period graph and year period graphs are shown. Unsophisticated forecast model is sketched out and created in following chapter. Here the regressive analysis methods are described, such as Autoregressive moving average model (ARMA), which can bring satisfactory results. Another example is Markov switching autoregressive model (MSAR). Next step from statistic forecast models is to sophisticated large forecasting systems. Those systems require meteorological forecast data and historical wind power data. Data are analyzed by statistical models. They have been developed recently and they are ordinary used nowadays.

Defining ambiguity as investor's uncertainty about the precision of the observed information, Chapter One constructs an empirical measure of ambiguity based on analysts' earnings forecast information, and finds that the market tends to react more negatively to highly ambiguous bad news, while it tends to be less responsive to highly ambiguous good news. This result supports the theoretical argument of Epstein and Schneider (2003, 2008) that ambiguity-averse investors take a worst-case assessment of the information precision, when they are uncertain about the information precision. In addition, Chapter One shows that returns on stocks exposed to highly ambiguous and intangible information are more negatively skewed. Chapter Two finds that certain traders are informed about either the forthcoming analysts' forecasts or long-term value of the stock, and informed traders prefer to use medium-size trades to exploit their private information advantage. Specifically, medium-size trade imbalance prior to the forecast announcements is positively correlated with the nature of forecast revisions, while in the days immediately after the forecasts medium-size trade imbalance is positively correlated with future stock returns for up to four months. Small-size trade imbalance is also positively correlated with future returns but only following downward revisions. In contrast, it is also shown that large trades placed right after the forecasts are unprofitable and generate slightly negative profits in the long run. Overall, our results are consistent with the "stealth trading hypothesis" proposed by Barclay and Warner (1993).