Testing omitted variables in VARs

A procedure is outlined aiming at testing the bias due to omitted variables in vector autoregressions. The procedure consists first of filtering a vector of omitted variables and then testing the bias. The test does not rely on the availability of the omitted variables, and is based on a comparison between maximum-likelihood with Kalman filter vector autoregression and linear vector autoregression estimates. The empirical part considers two illustrative examples: a univariate regression analysis, based on the rational expectation-augmented Phillips curve; and a VAR with output, inflation and interest rates where a “price puzzle” arises.