Causality in Variance Test

The causality-in-variance test detects whether shocks to one variable cause changes in the conditional variance (volatility) of another variable, distinct from mean-level causality. Introduced by Cheung and Ng (1996), it identifies volatility spillovers and contagion effects—crucial for risk management and understanding financial market interdependencies. This approach has become standard in studying shock transmission across asset classes and geographies.