Conditional macroeconomic and stock market volatility under regime switching: Empirical evidence from Africa

We used the Markov switching regression model to establish a relationship between the conditional stock market returns and macroeconomic volatilities. Monthly data from thirteen (13) African stock markets and macroeconomic variables (exchange rate, inflation, interest rate, money supply, and crude oil price) from 2003 to 2022 were employed. We confirmed the existence of two distinct regimes: An economic expansion or a "tranquil" state with less volatility and an economic decline or a "crisis" state with high volatility. Our findings indicated that macroeconomic variables significantly affect both expansion and crisis periods. However, the estimated coefficients were more significant in a tranquil than in a crisis state. The findings of the study were consistent with macroeconomic theory and pointed out policy implications.