Dynamic Vector Mode Regression

We study the semi-parametric estimation of the conditional mode of a random vector that has a continuous conditional joint density with a well-defined global mode. A novel full-system estimator is proposed and its asymptotic properties are studied. We specifically consider the estimation of vector autoregressive conditional mode models and of systems of linear simultaneous equations defined by mode restrictions. The proposed estimator is easy to implement and simulations suggest that it is reasonably behaved in finite samples. An empirical example illustrates the application of the proposed methods, including its use to obtain multi-step forecasts and to construct impulse response functions.