Economic Frontiers

research opportunities

Economic questions the platform can investigate with the data and formulas already wired in. Readiness says how strong the research path is; status says whether the platform already has a working solved artifact.

Solved
8
working artifact exists
In progress
1
partial path exists
Open
1
not yet solved
Readiness Method
Frontier readiness
Author: Christian Busse
readiness = data_fit + formula_path + validation_path + actionability
Strong means the platform already has data, formulas, validation, and a clear first artifact. Good means one part needs tightening. Early means worth tracking, but not ready to promote as a core truth. Solved means there is a working page or API in the platform, not that the economic problem is eternally closed. A solved frontier must expose its formulas, questions answered, derived metrics, and failure limits.
Frontier 1
FX Macro Link
Status: Solved
Readiness: Strong
Question

When do macro fundamentals actually matter for EUR/USD?

Promise

Turn the exchange-rate disconnect puzzle into a state-conditioned rule: macro matters only when confidence, spread, and market sensitivity line up.

What solved means here

Operationalized as a conditional macro-to-FX gate: macro evidence is allowed to influence EUR/USD only when relative macro spread and confidence clear the threshold.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

relative-bias engine and market-expression gate

Feeds
EUR/USD page
Signal Lab relative-bias tab
overview outlooks
Treasury macro FX input
It gates macro relevance for EUR/USD; it does not by itself forecast spot FX prices tick by tick.
Formula path
  • relative_macro_bias = (US signal - EA signal) * confidence_gate
  • active_fx_signal = relative_macro_bias if abs(relative_macro_bias) >= signal_threshold else 0
  • expression_state = active when macro_bias, confidence, and market sensitivity align
Platform value

Prevents the EUR/USD page from showing empty or generic commentary by turning prior macro analysis into a visible final FX bias and explanation chain.

Questions answered
  • Is macro currently relevant for EUR/USD?
  • Which side has the stronger macro impulse?
  • Is the signal strong enough to use or should it be suppressed?
Metrics derived
relative macro bias
confidence gate
pillar spreads
active/suppressed FX expression
directional macro rationale
Evidence already here
  • US/EA regional macro signals
  • EUR/USD relative bias
  • market expression gate
  • DXY beta policy
First useful artifact

A EUR/USD truth ladder that separates active macro signal from random-walk noise.

Frontier 2
Treasury Bill Value Path
Status: Solved
Readiness: Strong
Question

How does today’s macro state evolve into 1M/3M/6M bill value over six months?

Promise

Connect macro pressure to bill-rate paths, then use deterministic bill pricing and ladder math for the value path.

What solved means here

Operationalized as a hybrid structural Treasury bill engine: live bill yields anchor the start, macro/FX/rate features forecast the bill-rate path, and TreasuryDirect pricing converts rates into value.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

Treasury value forecast API /v1/research/treasury-value-forecast

Feeds
Treasury 6M Value dashboard
Treasury formula trace
overview Treasury headlines
Risk-to-macro transmission edges are not yet upstream inputs; the model currently uses macro state, EUR/USD relative bias, Fed funds, 2Y, 10Y, and observed bill yields.
Formula path
  • policy_pressure = 0.35*prices + 0.15*labour + 0.15*activity + 0.15*money_financial + 0.10*sovereign_liquidity + 0.10*eurusd_relative_bias
  • y_hat(t+h, tenor) = y_t + beta_mom*momentum + beta_policy*macro_impulse + beta_curve*curve_slope + beta_fx*fx_bias + residual_correction
  • bill_price = face * (1 - discount_rate * days_to_maturity / 360)
  • ladder_value_next = current_value / bill_price
Platform value

Turns macro analysis into an inspectable six-month Treasury value path instead of a disconnected rates chart.

Questions answered
  • What is the expected 6M value of a short bill ladder?
  • How much return is carry versus repricing?
  • Which macro drivers are pushing bill yields up or down?
Metrics derived
forecast bill yield path
purchase price
mark-to-market price
ladder value path
6M expected return
scenario bands
walk-forward MAE
Evidence already here
  • 1M/3M/6M Treasury yields
  • Fed funds, 2Y, 10Y
  • macro pressure
  • walk-forward residuals
First useful artifact

A carry-vs-repricing dashboard for short-term Treasury value.

Frontier 3
Real-Time Regime Read
Status: Solved
Readiness: Strong
Question

What is the economy’s actual state before GDP and inflation data are revised?

Promise

Use freshness, revision risk, confidence, and pyramid compression to distinguish current truth from stale truth.

What solved means here

Operationalized as release-aware regional scoreboards and pyramid layers where every macro state carries coverage, freshness, confidence, and regime diagnostics.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

regional scoreboards, pyramid builder, freshness policies

Feeds
Signal Lab
US and EA scoreboards
EUR/USD relative bias
Treasury macro state
Beta policy
It is a current-state read with freshness penalties, not a promise that unreleased or revised data is known.
Formula path
  • confidence = base_confidence * freshness_score * coverage_score * revision_quality
  • regional_signal = weighted_pillar_score adjusted by coverage and imbalance penalties
  • regime = threshold(regional_signal, duration, diffusion, extreme_flags)
Platform value

Makes stale or partial macro readings visible, so downstream FX, beta, and Treasury modules do not treat weak data as hard truth.

Questions answered
  • What does the platform currently believe the economy is doing?
  • How much of that belief is fresh?
  • Which macro pillars are carrying the regime classification?
Metrics derived
regional macro signal
confidence score
freshness score
coverage ratio
diffusion
duration
regime label
pyramid layer trace
Evidence already here
  • indicator lineage
  • freshness policies
  • regional scoreboards
  • macro pyramid
First useful artifact

A current-regime confidence meter with explicit stale-data haircuts.

Frontier 4
Stress Early Warning
Status: Solved
Readiness: Good
Question

Which stress signals arrive before financial strain becomes obvious?

Promise

Rank macro, monetary, funding, leverage, sovereign, and digital systemic stress by coverage and driver concentration.

What solved means here

Operationalized as a risk catalogue and overview that turns many heterogeneous risk metrics into comparable domain scores, top drivers, and source-quality diagnostics.

Formula lineage
Partial path
Source

risk catalogue and risk overview pages

Feeds
Risk overview
risk domain pages
risk-to-macro transmission candidate panel
The risk scores exist, but only validated transmission edges should be treated as macro-leading evidence.
Formula path
  • domain_score = weighted_average(metric_risk_scores)
  • metric_weight = source_quality * coverage * freshness_decay * frequency_reliability
  • freshness_decay = exp(-lambda * update_lag_days)
Platform value

Moves risk from scattered pages into a comparable stress surface that can feed macro, Treasury, and transmission models.

Questions answered
  • Which risk domain is most stressed?
  • Which metrics are driving that stress?
  • Is the signal broad or one-metric fragile?
Metrics derived
composite risk score
domain coverage
top risk drivers
recent changes
source coverage
quality flags
Evidence already here
  • 73 risk metrics
  • 10 risk domains
  • risk driver ranking
  • macro confidence
First useful artifact

A stress ladder that flags rising risk before it becomes a headline outcome.

Frontier 5
Adaptive Beta Reliability
Status: Solved
Readiness: Strong
Question

When is a market beta estimate stale because the macro regime changed?

Promise

Let macro instability determine the beta window, benchmark horizon, and signal threshold.

What solved means here

Operationalized as a deterministic beta policy that adapts the estimation window, benchmark horizon, and threshold from macro stress and confidence.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

frontend beta policy module

Feeds
Beta dashboard
overview beta reliability card
It adapts beta settings and reliability; it does not feed back into Treasury pricing.
Formula path
  • macro_instability = f(abs(signal), dispersion, freshness, confidence)
  • window_obs = base_window - instability_shortening + confidence_extension
  • signal_threshold = base_threshold + stress_haircut + low_confidence_haircut
Platform value

Keeps beta estimates from looking precise when the macro regime has shifted underneath them.

Questions answered
  • Should beta use a long stable window or a shorter crisis window?
  • Is the current beta reliable enough to act on?
  • What macro condition changed the beta settings?
Metrics derived
adaptive window observations
benchmark horizon
signal threshold
beta reliability
macro policy reasons
Evidence already here
  • macro-conditioned beta policy
  • regional confidence
  • pillar dispersion
  • market benchmark moves
First useful artifact

A beta reliability score beside every benchmark signal.

Frontier 6
Risk-to-Macro Transmission
Status: Solved
Readiness: Good
Question

Which risk domains actually precede macro deterioration?

Promise

Promote a domain-pillar edge only when it improves point-in-time, walk-forward prediction after macro, risk, market, quality, placebo, and reverse-direction controls.

What solved means here

Operationalized as a validated transmission edge, not a universal causal proof: a risk domain is admitted only when it improves out-of-sample prediction of later macro deterioration versus strict baselines.

Formula lineage
Active research
Source

risk-to-macro transmission API /v1/research/risk/transmission

Feeds
Risk-to-Macro Transmission page
frontier evidence layer
This is not yet wired into Treasury forecasts; it proves candidate transmission edges as a separate evidence layer.
Formula path
  • macro_damage(p,t,h) = macro_score(p,t) - macro_score(p,t+h)
  • G = max(0, 1 - MAE_augmented / MAE_baseline)
  • S = 2 * max(share(beta > 0), share(beta < 0)) - 1
  • V = 1 if q <= threshold and placebo, reverse, coverage, and uniqueness tests pass else 0
  • T = V * G^0.7 * effect_size * sign_stability * quality_weight
Platform value

Connects risk pages to macro outcomes, so the platform can explain which stress channels historically improved prediction instead of showing parallel dashboards.

Questions answered
  • Which risk domains precede macro pillar deterioration?
  • At what lag does the edge validate?
  • Is the edge unique after controlling for other risks?
  • Did markets already price it?
  • What are the failure cases?
Metrics derived
transmission strength
OOS gain
q-value
median risk beta
sign stability
quality weight
effective sample size
placebo pass
reverse pass
failure cases
Evidence already here
  • risk overview
  • regional score history
  • market proxies
  • walk-forward loss tests
First useful artifact

A validated transmission map with formula trace, OOS gain, q-value, falsification tests, and failure cases.

Frontier 7
Concurrent Outlooks
Status: Solved
Readiness: Strong
Question

What should we believe when macro, FX, Treasury, beta, and risk disagree?

Promise

Do not force one master score. Rank concurrent truths and show conflict flags beside the evidence.

What solved means here

Operationalized as an overview ladder that ranks multiple validated outputs side by side and flags conflicts rather than collapsing them into one overconfident truth.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

overview headlines and concurrent outlook ranking

Feeds
Overview page
It ranks and explains concurrent outputs; it is a consumer of other engines, not an upstream model.
Formula path
  • outlook_score = signal_strength * confidence * validation_quality
  • conflict_flag = sign(disagreement across macro, FX, Treasury, beta, risk)
  • rank = sort(outlooks by confidence-adjusted evidence strength)
Platform value

Lets the dashboard say “these truths disagree” while preserving the evidence chain behind each one.

Questions answered
  • Which platform output deserves attention first?
  • Where do macro, FX, Treasury, beta, and risk disagree?
  • Which evidence chain is strongest today?
Metrics derived
outlook rank
confidence-adjusted score
conflict flags
driver summary
validation status
Evidence already here
  • overview ladder
  • formula traces
  • confidence gates
  • validation errors
First useful artifact

A concurrent outlook engine on the overview page with a ranked ladder below it.

Frontier 8
Sovereign Liquidity Pressure
Status: In progress
Readiness: Good
Question

When do debt, rates, interest burden, and liquidity become binding?

Promise

Treat sovereign liquidity as a path problem, not a single debt/GDP snapshot.

What solved means here

Partially operationalized through sovereign risk, liquidity-cover scorecards, and Treasury rates; the full path model still needs a dedicated trigger and projection layer.

Formula lineage
Partial path
Source

sovereign risk, interest-burden, liquidity-cover, and Treasury data surfaces

Feeds
Sovereign risk pages
Treasury context
The full sovereign liquidity trigger path is not implemented as a dedicated forecast model yet.
Formula path
  • liquidity_pressure = debt_service_burden + refinancing_rate_pressure - liquidity_cover
  • interest_burden_path = debt_stock * projected_rate / fiscal_capacity
  • binding_flag = liquidity_pressure >= trigger_threshold
Platform value

Would connect fiscal capacity, rates, refinancing pressure, and market liquidity into an early warning path.

Questions answered
  • When does rate pressure become fiscally binding?
  • Which threshold is closest to being breached?
  • Is liquidity improving or deteriorating?
Metrics derived
liquidity pressure
debt-service burden
trigger distance
refinancing stress
sovereign liquidity regime
Evidence already here
  • debt/GDP
  • interest outlays
  • liquidity cover
  • Treasury rates
  • sovereign risk
First useful artifact

A sovereign-liquidity pressure path with trigger thresholds.

Frontier 9
Carry Quality
Status: Solved
Readiness: Good
Question

When is positive carry real value versus compensation for hidden repricing risk?

Promise

Decompose carry, repricing, validation error, and macro pressure into a quality score.

What solved means here

Operationalized from the Treasury value engine: carry is separated from repricing and penalized by validation error and adverse macro pressure.

Formula lineage
Active engine
Source

Treasury value forecast ladder and price decomposition

Feeds
Treasury 6M Value dashboard
The dashboard exposes carry and repricing contributions; the compact carry-quality score is derived from those outputs rather than a separate upstream model.
Formula path
  • carry_quality = carry_contribution - repricing_risk - validation_error_penalty - adverse_macro_pressure
  • carry_contribution = maturity_value - purchase_price
  • repricing_contribution = mark_to_market_price - purchase_price
Platform value

Prevents positive yield from being mistaken for high-quality value when forecast error or repricing risk is high.

Questions answered
  • Is the carry actually attractive?
  • Is value coming from income or mark-to-market movement?
  • How much does model error reduce confidence?
Metrics derived
carry contribution
repricing contribution
carry-quality label
validation penalty
macro pressure penalty
Evidence already here
  • Treasury ladder value
  • carry contribution
  • repricing contribution
  • walk-forward MAE
First useful artifact

A carry-quality label beside the Treasury value forecast.

Frontier 10
Digital-Systemic Spillover
Status: Open
Readiness: Early
Question

Do stablecoin, crypto-wrapper, and digital infrastructure stresses leak into macro or Treasury truth?

Promise

Use digital systemic risk as an overlay, not a standalone drama button.

What solved means here

Not solved yet: the data exists as risk surfaces, but the spillover equation into macro or Treasury outcomes has not been validated.

Formula lineage
Roadmap only
Source

digital systemic risk surfaces

Feeds
Risk overview only
No validated spillover edge into macro or Treasury has been promoted yet.
Formula path
  • candidate_spillover = digital_systemic_stress * exposure_weight * transmission_gate
  • promotion requires OOS gain versus macro, market, and all-risks baselines
Platform value

Would test whether digital financial stress adds information beyond conventional funding and market stress.

Questions answered
  • Does digital systemic stress lead macro deterioration?
  • Does it affect Treasury value directly or through risk channels?
  • Is the signal unique or redundant?
Metrics derived
digital spillover candidate score
exposure weight
transmission gate
validation status
Evidence already here
  • digital systemic risk
  • digital policy readiness
  • infrastructure coverage
  • risk overview drivers
First useful artifact

A digital-systemic overlay in the stress ladder.