Determining the number of factors when the number of factors can increase with sample size
因子数随样本量增长时的因子数量确定
Correctly specifying the number of factors (r) is a fundamental issue for the application of factor models. In this paper we develop an econometric method to estimate the number of factors in factor models of large dimensions where the number of factors is allowed to increase as the two dimensions, cross-section size (N) and time period (T) increase. Using similar information criteria as proposed by Bai and Ng (2002), we show that the number of factors can be consistently…