We consider an extension of ARCH(∞) models to account for conditional asymmetry in the presence of high persistence. After stating existence and stationarity conditions, this paper develops the statistical inference of such models and proves the consistency and asymptotic distribution of a Quasi Maximum Likelihood estimator. Some particular specifications are studied and we introduce a Portmanteau test of goodness-of-fit. In addition, tests procedures for asymmetry and GARCH validity are derived. Finally, we present an application on a set of equity indices to reexamine the preeminence of GARCH(1,1) specifications. We find strong evidence that the short memory feature of such models is not suitable for peripheral assets.

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