In this paper we investigate whether and how far density forecasts sensibly can be combined to produce a “better” pooled density forecast. In so doing we bring together two important but hitherto largely unrelated areas of the forecasting literature in economics, density forecasting and forecast combination. We provide simple Bayesian methods of pooling information across alternative density fo...

Forecasts of economic time series are often evaluated according to their accuracy as measured by either quantitativeprecision or qualitative reliability. We argue that consumers purchase forecasts for the potentialutility gains from utilizing them, not for theiraccuracy. Using Monte Carlo techniques to incorporate the temporal heteroskedasticity inherent in asset returns,the expected utility of...

Conditions under which monthly rainfall forecasts translate into monthly runoff predictions that could support water resources planning and management activities were investigated on a small watershed in central Oklahoma. Runoff response to rainfall forecasts was simulated using the hydrologic model SWAT. Eighteen scenarios were examined that represented combinations of wet, average, and dry an...

A hybrid data assimilation approach combining nudging and the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) for dynamic analysis and numerical weather prediction is explored here using the non-linear Lorenz three-variable model system with the goal of a smooth, continuous and accurate data assimilation. The hybrid nudging-EnKF (HNEnKF) computes the hybrid nudging coefficients from the flow-dependent, time-vary...

Prediction models of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon often represent westerly wind bursts (WWBs), a significant player in ENSO dynamics, as stochastic forcing. A recent paper developed an observationally motivated semi-stochastic statistical model that quantifies the dependence of WWBs on large-scale sea-surface temperature. This WWB model is added here to a hybrid coupled mo...

This paper presents a computational tool based on genetic algorithm and artificial neural network for optimizing the operation of isolated diesel-photovoltaic-battery hybrid power systems using day-ahead forecasts obtained with quantile random forests. The optimization was conceived to be flexible, i.e., it can used operate multiple configurations diesel generator sets (DGS), work reduced numbe...

The importance of load forecasting has been increasing lately and improving the use of energy resources remains a great challenge. The amount of data collected from Microgrid (MG) systems is growing while systems are becoming more sensitive, depending on small changes in the daily routine. The need for flexible and adaptive models has been increased for dealing with these problems. In this pape...

This document is another installment in a series of near real-time weekly influenza forecasts made during the 2012-2013 influenza season. Here we present some of the results of forecasts initiated following assimilation of observations for Week 52 (i.e. the forecast begins December 30, 2012) for municipalities in the United States. The forecasts were made on January 4, 2013. Results from foreca...

We present here an original work that uses machine learning techniques to combine time series forecasts. In this proposal, a machine learning technique uses features of the series at hand to define adequate weights for the individual forecasting methods being combined. The combined forecasts are the weighted average of the forecasts provided by the individual methods. In order to evaluate this ...