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Dr. Katja Heinisch

Dr. Katja Heinisch
Aktuelle Position

seit 1/13

Leiterin der Forschungsgruppe Ökonometrische Methoden für wirtschaftliche Prognosen und Simulationen

Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH)

seit 9/09

Mitglied der Abteilung Makroökonomik

Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH)

Forschungsschwerpunkte
  • internationale Makroökonomik
  • angewandte Zeitreihenökonometrie, insb. Kurzfristprognose
  • strukturelle makroökonometrische Modelle

Katja Heinisch ist seit September 2009 wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin in der Abteilung Makroökonomik. Zu ihren Forschungsschwerpunkten zählen insbesondere Kurzfristprognosen und die ökonometrische Modellierung gesamtwirtschaftlicher Zusammenhänge.

Katja Heinisch studierte an der Technischen Universität Chemnitz und der Universität Straßburg. Sie promovierte an der Universität Osnabrück. Während ihrer Dissertationszeit absolvierte Katja Heinisch Forschungsaufenthalte an der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) und beim Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF).

Ihr Kontakt

Dr. Katja Heinisch
Dr. Katja Heinisch
- Abteilung Makroökonomik
Nachricht senden +49 345 7753-836 LinkedIn Profil

Publikationen

Zitationen
506

Neueste Publikationen

Transparency and Forecasting: The Impact of Conditioning Assumptions on Forecast Accuracy

Katja Heinisch Christoph Schult Carola Stapper

in: Applied Economic Letters, im Erscheinen

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of inaccurate assumptions on economic forecast precision. We construct a new dataset comprising an unbalanced panel of annual German GDP forecasts from various institutions, taking into account their underlying assumptions. We explicitly control for different forecast horizons to reflect the information available at the time of release. Our analysis reveals that approximately 75% of the variation in squared forecast errors can be attributed to the variation in squared errors of the initial assumptions. This finding emphasizes the importance of accurate assumptions in economic forecasting and suggests that forecasters should transparently disclose their assumptions to enhance the usefulness of their forecasts in shaping effective policy recommendations.

Publikation lesen
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Smooth and Persistent Forecasts of German GDP: Balancing Accuracy and Stability

Katja Heinisch Simon van Norden Marc Wildi

in: IWH Discussion Papers, Nr. 1, 2026

Abstract

Forecasts that minimize mean squared forecast error (MSE) often exhibit excessive volatility, limiting their practical applicability. We address this accuracy-smoothness trade-off by introducing a Multivariate Smooth Sign Accuracy (M-SSA) framework, which extracts smoothed components from leading indicators to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and control the forecast volatility and timing. Applied to quarterly German GDP growth, our method yields smoothed forecasts that can improve forecasting accuracy, particularly over medium-term horizons. We find that while smoother forecasts tend to lag slightly around turning points, this can be offset by adjusting the forecast horizon. These findings highlight the practicality of the M-SSA framework for both forecasters and policymakers, especially in settings where forecast revisions or policy adjustments are costly.

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Einhaltung der EU-Fiskalregeln erfordert umfangreiche Konsolidierung — Mittelfristige Projektion der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung und der öffentlichen Finanzen in Deutschland

Andrej Drygalla Katja Heinisch Oliver Holtemöller Axel Lindner Christoph Schult Götz Zeddies

in: IWH Policy Notes, Nr. 1, 2026

Abstract

Der Beitrag untersucht die mittelfristige Entwicklung der deutschen Wirtschaft und der öffentlichen Finanzen vor dem Hintergrund der seit 2025 geltenden neuen EU-Fiskalregeln und der jüngsten Lockerung der nationalen Schuldenbremse. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Frage, ob und unter welchen Bedingungen Deutschland die europäischen Vorgaben zu Defizit, Schuldenstand und Nettoprimärausgaben einhalten kann.

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Referierte Publikationen

Transparency and Forecasting: The Impact of Conditioning Assumptions on Forecast Accuracy

Katja Heinisch Christoph Schult Carola Stapper

in: Applied Economic Letters, im Erscheinen

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of inaccurate assumptions on economic forecast precision. We construct a new dataset comprising an unbalanced panel of annual German GDP forecasts from various institutions, taking into account their underlying assumptions. We explicitly control for different forecast horizons to reflect the information available at the time of release. Our analysis reveals that approximately 75% of the variation in squared forecast errors can be attributed to the variation in squared errors of the initial assumptions. This finding emphasizes the importance of accurate assumptions in economic forecasting and suggests that forecasters should transparently disclose their assumptions to enhance the usefulness of their forecasts in shaping effective policy recommendations.

Publikation lesen
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Step by Step ‒ A Quarterly Evaluation of EU Commission's GDP Forecasts

Katja Heinisch

in: Journal of Forecasting, Vol. 44 (3), 2025

Abstract

The European Commission’s growth forecasts play a crucial role in shaping policies and provide a benchmark for many (national) forecasters. The annual forecasts are built on quarterly estimates, which do not receive much attention and are hardly known. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of multi-period ahead quarterly GDP growth forecasts for the European Union (EU), euro area, and several EU member states with respect to first-release and current-release data. Forecast revisions and forecast errors are analyzed, and the results show that the forecasts are not systematically biased. However, GDP forecasts for several member states tend to be overestimated at short-time horizons. Furthermore, the final forecast revision in the current quarter is generally downward biased for almost all countries. Overall, the differences in mean forecast errors are minor when using real-time data or pseudo-real-time data and these differences do not significantly impact the overall assessment of the forecasts’ quality. Additionally, the forecast performance varies across countries, with smaller countries and Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) experiencing larger forecast errors. The paper provides evidence that there is still potential for improvement in forecasting techniques both for nowcasts but also forecasts up to eight quarters ahead. In the latter case, the performance of the mean forecast tends to be superior for many countries.

Publikation lesen
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Conditional Macroeconomic Survey Forecasts: Revisions and Errors

Alexander Glas Katja Heinisch

in: Journal of International Money and Finance, Vol. 138 (November), 2023

Abstract

Using data from the European Central Bank's Survey of Professional Forecasters and ECB/Eurosystem staff projections, we analyze the role of ex-ante conditioning variables for macroeconomic forecasts. In particular, we test to which extent the updating and ex-post performance of predictions for inflation, real GDP growth and unemployment are related to beliefs about future oil prices, exchange rates, interest rates and wage growth. While oil price and exchange rate predictions are updated more frequently than macroeconomic forecasts, the opposite is true for interest rate and wage growth expectations. Beliefs about future inflation are closely associated with oil price expectations, whereas expected interest rates are related to predictions of output growth and unemployment. Exchange rate predictions also matter for macroeconomic forecasts, albeit less so than the other variables. With regard to forecast errors, wage growth and GDP growth closely comove, but only during the period when interest rates are at the effective zero lower bound.

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Arbeitspapiere

cover_DP_2026-01.jpg

Smooth and Persistent Forecasts of German GDP: Balancing Accuracy and Stability

Katja Heinisch Simon van Norden Marc Wildi

in: IWH Discussion Papers, Nr. 1, 2026

Abstract

Forecasts that minimize mean squared forecast error (MSE) often exhibit excessive volatility, limiting their practical applicability. We address this accuracy-smoothness trade-off by introducing a Multivariate Smooth Sign Accuracy (M-SSA) framework, which extracts smoothed components from leading indicators to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and control the forecast volatility and timing. Applied to quarterly German GDP growth, our method yields smoothed forecasts that can improve forecasting accuracy, particularly over medium-term horizons. We find that while smoother forecasts tend to lag slightly around turning points, this can be offset by adjusting the forecast horizon. These findings highlight the practicality of the M-SSA framework for both forecasters and policymakers, especially in settings where forecast revisions or policy adjustments are costly.

Publikation lesen
cover_DP_2025-06.jpg

Assumption Errors and Forecast Accuracy: A Partial Linear Instrumental Variable and Double Machine Learning Approach

Katja Heinisch Fabio Scaramella Christoph Schult

in: IWH Discussion Papers, Nr. 6, 2025

Abstract

Accurate macroeconomic forecasts are essential for effective policy decisions, yet their precision depends on the accuracy of the underlying assumptions. This paper examines the extent to which assumption errors affect forecast accuracy, introducing the average squared assumption error (ASAE) as a valid instrument to address endogeneity. Using double/debiased machine learning (DML) techniques and partial linear instrumental variable (PLIV) models, we analyze GDP growth forecasts for Germany, conditioning on key exogenous variables such as oil price, exchange rate, and world trade. We find that traditional ordinary least squares (OLS) techniques systematically underestimate the influence of assumption errors, particularly with respect to world trade, while DML effectively mitigates endogeneity, reduces multicollinearity, and captures nonlinearities in the data. However, the effect of oil price assumption errors on GDP forecast errors remains ambiguous. These results underscore the importance of advanced econometric tools to improve the evaluation of macroeconomic forecasts.

Publikation lesen
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Economic Sentiment: Disentangling Private Information from Public Knowledge

Katja Heinisch Axel Lindner

in: IWH Discussion Papers, Nr. 15, 2021

Abstract

This paper addresses a general problem with the use of surveys as source of information about the state of an economy: Answers to surveys are highly dependent on information that is publicly available, while only additional information that is not already publicly known has the potential to improve a professional forecast. We propose a simple procedure to disentangle the private information of agents from knowledge that is already publicly known for surveys that ask for general as well as for private prospects. Our results reveal the potential of our proposed technique for the usage of European Commissions‘ consumer surveys for economic forecasting for Germany.

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