The predictive power of yield curve in forecasting U.S. recessions

Since the last recession in 2001, the U.S. economy has continued to grow; yet speculation of a recession has surfaced on the basis of the yield curve flattening. Yield curve inversion has been strongly associated with U.S. recessions over the last forty-six years. This paper examines the predictive power of the yield curve, the index of' leading indicators, monetary growth and stock returns in forecasting U.S. recessions. A probit model is used to generate recession probability forecasts three, six, nine and twelve months forward. Empirical results show that the yield curve embodies the highest degree of explanatory power beyond a three-month forecast horizon. Results for the last two recessions are analyzed as well as forecasts going forward into 2006. As a final observation, an asset allocation trading strategy is tested out-of-sample.