Comparing Density Forecast Models

ABSTRACT In this paper we discuss how to compare various (possibly misspecified) density forecast models using the Kullback-Leibler information criterion (KLIC) of a candidate density forecast model with respect to the true density. The KLIC differential between a pair of competing models is the (predictive) log-likelihood ratio (LR) between the two models. Even though the true density is unknown, using the LR statistic amounts to comparing models with the KLIC as a loss function and thus enables us to assess which density forecast model can approximate the true density more closely. We also discuss how this KLIC is related to the KLIC based on the probability integral transform (PIT) in the framework o