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Article
The Jobs Model Forecast: Well Done in 2004
PS: Political Science & Politics
  • Michael S. Lewis-Beck, University of Iowa
  • Charles Tien
Document Type
Article
Peer Reviewed
1
Publication Date
1-1-2005
DOI of Published Version
10.1017.S104909650505571X
Abstract

The Jobs Model of presidential election forecasting predicted well in 2004. The model, based on data available in August 2004, generated an error of only 1.3 percentage points when forecasting the incumbent share of the two-party popular vote (Lewis-Beck and Tien 2004). In contrast, the median forecast from seven teams of statistical modelers was off 2.6 percentage points (Campbell 2004, 734). We believe that the Jobs Model was more accurate because it broadened measurement of economic performance, a conceptual variable lying at the core of most of these efforts. Take, as a representative example, the Growth Model in Table 1, Column 1. Its forecast for George W. Bush was 54.0% (almost exactly at the median for the above-mentioned group of forecasters). This model was earlier reported by us, but rejected on grounds of specification error (Lewis-Beck and Tien 2004, 754). We argued that the changing nature of the American economy required attention to a hitherto neglected variable—job creation. When this variable, new jobs over the presidential term, is added to the Growth Model, the fit statistics improve dramatically (see Table 1, Column 2,).

Journal Article Version
Version of Record
Published Article/Book Citation
PS: Political Science & Politics, 38:1 (2005) pp. 27-29. https://doi.org/10.1017.S104909650505571X
Rights
Copyright © 2005 American Political Science Association. Used by permission. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=PSC
Disciplines
Citation Information
Michael S. Lewis-Beck and Charles Tien. "The Jobs Model Forecast: Well Done in 2004" PS: Political Science & Politics Vol. 38 Iss. 1 (2005) p. 27 - 29 ISSN: 1049-0965
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael_lewis_beck/155/