The classic papers by Newey and West (1987) and Andrews (1991) spurred a large body of work on how to improve heteroskedasticity-and autocorrelation-robust (HAR) inference in time series regression. This literature finds that using a larger-than-usual truncation parameter to estimate the long-run variance, combined with Kiefer-Vogelsang (2002, 2005 fixed-b critical values, can substantially reduce size distortions, at only a modest cost in (size-adjusted) power. Empirical practice, however, has not kept up. This paper therefore draws on the post-Newey West/Andrews literature to make concrete recommendations for HAR inference. We derive truncation parameter rules that choose a point on the size-power tradeoff to minimize a loss function. If Newey-West tests are used, we recommend the truncation parameter rule S = 1.3T 1/2 and (nonstandard) fixed-b critical values. For tests of a single restriction, we find advantages to using the equal-weighted cosine (EWC) test, where the long run variance is estimated by projections onto Type II cosines, using ν = 0.4T 2/3 cosine terms; for this test, fixed-b critical values are, conveniently, tν or F. We assess these rules using first an ARMA/GARCH Monte Carlo design, then a dynamic factor model design estimated using a 207 quarterly U.S. macroeconomic time series.

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Heteroskedasticity‐ and autocorrelation‐robust (HAR) inference in time series regression typically involves kernel estimation of the long‐run variance. Conventional wisdom holds that, for a given kernel, the choice of truncation parameter trades off a test's null rejection rate and power, and that this tradeoff differs across kernels. We formalize this intuition: using higher‐order expansions, we provide a unified size‐power frontier for both kernel and weighted orthonormal series tests using nonstandard “fixed‐ b” critical values. We also provide a frontier for the subset of these tests for which the fixed‐ b distribution is t or F. These frontiers are respectively achieved by the QS kernel and equal‐weighted periodogram. The frontiers have simple closed‐form expressions, which show that the price paid for restricting attention to tests with t and F critical values is small. The frontiers are derived for the Gaussian multivariate location model, but simulations suggest the qualitative findings extend to stochastic regressors.