Asymptotic and bootstrap tests for linearity in a TAR-GARCH(1,1) model with a unit root

This paper derives the limiting distribution of the Lagrange Multiplier(LM) test for threshold nonlinearity in a TAR model with GARCH errors when one of the regimes contains a unit root. It is shown that the asymptotic distribution is nonstandard and depends on nuisance parameters that capture the degree of conditional heteroskedasticity and non-Gaussian nature of the process. We propose a bootstrap procedure for approximating the exact finite-sample distribution of the test for linearity and establish its asymptotic validity. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.