Shading in Graphs

[Ann Jun]

I am trying to plot a single time series on a graph, with dates on the x axis. I would like to shade the part in between two dates to indicate a period of time. How may I do this?

For example, I plot using the command:

twoway line series1 date, xline(500 600)

How may I shade the part between points 500 and 600?

[Daniel Shin]

Take a look at this thread:
https://www.statalist.org/forums/for...vertical-lines

[Ann Jun]

Thanks. But unfortunately, the other thread does not provide a flexible solution for shading when the numbers on my x-axis may vary. Is there a way to directly shade between 2 data points?

[Daniel Shin]

You will need to incorporate their solution to your problem. You have the option of using macros to set your range based on your criteria. As far as I know there isn’t a simple option for this.

[Nick Cox]

See also

Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding recession shading to time-series graphs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. Schenck
2/20 http://blog.stata.com/2020/02/13/add...ssion-shading-
to-time-series-graphs/


SJ-16-3 gr0067 . Speaking Stata: Shading zones on time series and other plots
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N. J. Cox
Q3/16 SJ 16(3):805--812 (no commands)
discusses background shading of time series and other plots
https://www.stata-journal.com/articl...article=gr0067

[Dami Giwa]

I am trying to indicate/shade recession periods on my time series graph. I have tried the two suggestions Nick mentioned above, but I can't seem to figure it out.

Here is my code:

local linecall GDP_PERCT_CHG CFNAI_INDEX date if inrange(date, 1983, 2023), lpattern(dash solid) xscale(r(1983 2023))

local scattericall -10 2023 "GDP" 10 2023 "CFNAI", mlabsize(*1.0) msymbol(none)

twoway line `linecall' || scatteri `scattericall'


P.S: Both variables contain positive and negative values. Data is in quarterly format.
Stata version: Stata/SE 15.1

[Nick Cox]

Please show us the results of

summarize date GDP_PERCT_CHG CFNAI_INDEX

as if you have a quarterly date variable you need to phrase calls accordingly.

.

 di yq(1983,1) "  " yq(2023, 4)
92  255

 . di %tq 2023
2465q4

As above for example 2023 as a Stata quarterly date is more than 400 years into the future,

[Dami Giwa]

Thanks Nick. Here is the summary result:

Variable Obs Mean Std. Dev. Min Max

date 164 173.5 47.48684 92 255
GDP_PERCT_~G 164 1.299443 1.201946 -8.2619 8.71031
CFNAI_INDEX 164 -.0148171 .4884651 -2.373333 1.43

[Nick Cox]

So, I think you need something more like

local scattericall -10 252  "GDP" 10 252 "CFNAI", mlabsize(*1.0) msymbol(none)

[Dami Giwa]

Thanks, Nick. I have been able to figure it out.
However, I want the recession bars to start at the base of the graph. Is there a way to fix it?
Here is my code:

summ GDP_PERCT_CHG
gen recs = r(max) if recession == 1
replace recs = r(min) if recession == 0
summ GDP_PERCT_CHG
local min = r(min)
twoway (bar recs date, color(gs10) base(-2.373333) base(-8.2619)) (tsline GDP_PERCT_CHG CFNAI_INDEX, lcolor(black)), tlabel(, format(%tqCCYY))

[Nick Cox]

I can't quite follow the question. You have two calls to base(), neither of which seems to be what you want. Why not use the value you want?

[Dami Giwa]

Right! I tried that and it worked! Thanks for your input! Your comments helped me think through my codes.