A joint test for arch and bilinearity in the regression model

In this paper we argue that a simultaneous test for ARCH and bilinearity should be used to test for the possible nonlinearity of the error process in the regression model. We suggest such a joint test statistic. An empirical example shows that the individual tests of ARCH and bilinearity may not be conclusive while a joint test clearly rejects the linearity hypothesis. Our results are also applicable to pure time series models.