st: IRF order identification interpretation

[Paul Zhang <paulzhang013@gmail.com>]

Dear Statalisters,

I have a question regarding how to interpret the graphs that are
generated with the VARBASIC command. For example, say that I have
estimated the following vector autoregression:

VARBASIC y x, lag(1/1)

In the resulting IRF graphs, is x deemed to be causally prior to y or
is y deemed to be causally prior to x?

If I reversed the order (i.e., ran VARBASIC x y, lag(1/1) or used the
ORDER command to specify a second order) would I be making the
opposite assumption? Since I am new to STATA, any reference or
resource that delves into this in detail would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Paul
*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
*   http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/resources/statalist-faq/
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/