The BEAR toolbox
The Bayesian Estimation, Analysis and Regression toolbox (BEAR) is a comprehensive (Bayesian Panel) VAR toolbox for forecasting and policy analysis.
BEAR is a MATLAB based toolbox which is easy for non-technical users to understand, augment and adapt. In particular, BEAR includes a user-friendly graphical interface which allows the tool to be used by country desk economists.
Furthermore, BEAR is well documented, both within the code as well as including a detailed theoretical and user’s guide. BEAR includes state-of-the art applications such as FAVARs, stochastic volatility, time-varying parameters, mixed-frequency, sign and magnitude restrictions, conditional forecasts, Bayesian forecast evaluation measures, Bayesian Panel VAR using different prior distributions (for example hierarchical priors).
BEAR is specifically developed for transparently supplying a tool for state-of-the-art research and is planned to be further developed to always be at the frontier of economic research.