Model declaration

The model is declared inside a model block:

Block: model ;

Block: model (OPTIONS...);

The equations of the model are written in a block delimited by model and end keywords.

There must be as many equations as there are endogenous variables in the model, except when computing the unconstrained optimal policy with ramsey_model, ramsey_policy or discretionary_policy.

The syntax of equations must follow the conventions for MODEL_EXPRESSION as described in expr. Each equation must be terminated by a semicolon (';'). A normal equation looks like:

MODEL_EXPRESSION = MODEL_EXPRESSION;

When the equations are written in homogenous form, it is possible to omit the '=0' part and write only the left hand side of the equation. A homogenous equation looks like:

MODEL_EXPRESSION;

Inside the model block, Dynare allows the creation of model-local variables, which constitute a simple way to share a common expression between several equations. The syntax consists of a pound sign (#) followed by the name of the new model local variable (which must not be declared as in var-decl, but may have been declared by model_local_variable), an equal sign, and the expression for which this new variable will stand. Later on, every time this variable appears in the model, Dynare will substitute it by the expression assigned to the variable. Note that the scope of this variable is restricted to the model block; it cannot be used outside. To assign a LaTeX name to the model local variable, use the declaration syntax outlined by model_local_variable. A model local variable declaration looks like:

#VARIABLE_NAME = MODEL_EXPRESSION;

It is possible to tag equations written in the model block. A tag can serve different purposes by allowing the user to attach arbitrary informations to each equation and to recover them at runtime. For instance, it is possible to name the equations with a name-tag, using a syntax like:

model;

[name = 'Budget constraint'];
c + k = k^theta*A;

end;

Here, name is the keyword indicating that the tag names the equation. If an equation of the model is tagged with a name, the resid command will display the name of the equations (which may be more informative than the equation numbers) in addition to the equation number. Several tags for one equation can be separated using a comma:

model;

[name='Taylor rule',mcp = 'r > -1.94478']
r = rho*r(-1) + (1-rho)*(gpi*Infl+gy*YGap) + e;

end;

More information on tags is available at https://git.dynare.org/Dynare/dynare/-/wikis/Equations-Tags.

There can be several model blocks, in which case they are simply concatenated. The set of effective options is also the concatenation of the options declared in all the blocks, but in that case you may rather want to use the model_options command.

Options

  • linear

Declares the model as being linear. It spares oneself from having to declare initial values for computing the steady state of a stationary linear model. This option can't be used with non-linear models, it will NOT trigger linearization of the model.

  • no_static

Don't create the static model file. This can be useful for models which don't have a steady state.

  • differentiate_forward_vars differentiate_forward_vars = (VARIABLE_NAME [VARIABLE_NAME ...] )

Tells Dynare to create a new auxiliary variable for each endogenous variable that appears with a lead, such that the new variable is the time differentiate of the original one. More precisely, if the model contains x(+1), then a variable AUX_DIFF_VAR will be created such that AUX_DIFF_VAR=x-x(-1), and x(+1) will be replaced with x+AUX_DIFF_VAR(+1).

The transformation is applied to all endogenous variables with a lead if the option is given without a list of variables. If there is a list, the transformation is restricted to endogenous with a lead that also appear in the list.

This option can useful for some deterministic simulations where convergence is hard to obtain. Bad values for terminal conditions in the case of very persistent dynamics or permanent shocks can hinder correct solutions or any convergence. The new differentiated variables have obvious zero terminal conditions (if the terminal condition is a steady state) and this in many cases helps convergence of simulations.

  • parallel_local_files = ( FILENAME [, FILENAME]... )

Declares a list of extra files that should be transferred to follower nodes when doing a parallel computation (see paral-conf).

  • balanced_growth_test_tol = DOUBLE

Tolerance used for determining whether cross-derivatives are zero in the test for balanced growth path (the latter is documented on https://archives.dynare.org/DynareWiki/RemovingTrends). Default: 1e-6

Example (Elementary RBC model)

var c k;
varexo x;
parameters aa alph bet delt gam;

model;
c =  - k + aa*x*k(-1)^alph + (1-delt)*k(-1);
c^(-gam) = (aa*alph*x(+1)*k^(alph-1) + 1 - delt)*c(+1)^(-gam)/(1+bet);
end;

Example (Use of model local variables)

The following program:

model;
# gamma = 1 - 1/sigma;
u1 = c1^gamma/gamma;
u2 = c2^gamma/gamma;
end;

...is formally equivalent to:

model;
u1 = c1^(1-1/sigma)/(1-1/sigma);
u2 = c2^(1-1/sigma)/(1-1/sigma);
end;

Example (A linear model)

model(linear);
x = a*x(-1)+b*y(+1)+e_x;
y = d*y(-1)+e_y;
end;
  • model_options (OPTIONS...);

This command accepts the same options as the model block.

The purpose of this statement is to specify the options that apply to the whole model, when there are several model blocks, so as to restore the symmetry between those blocks (since otherwise one model block would typically bear the options, while the other ones would typically have no option).

  • model_remove (TAGS...);

This command removes equations that appeared in a previous model block.

The equations must be specified by a list of tag values, separated by commas. Each element of the list is either a simple quoted string, in which case it designates an equation by its name tag; or a tag name (without quotes), followed by an equal sign, then by the tag value (within quotes).

Each removed equation must either have an endogenous tag, or have a left hand side containing a single endogenous variable. The corresponding endogenous variable will be either turned into an exogenous (if it is still used in somewhere in the model at that point), otherwise it will be removed from the model.

Example

var c k dummy1 dummy2;

model;
  c + k - aa*x*k(-1)^alph - (1-delt)*k(-1) + dummy1;
  c^(-gam) - (1+bet)^(-1)*(aa*alph*x(+1)*k^(alph-1) + 1 - delt)*c(+1)^(-gam);
  [ name = 'eq:dummy1', endogenous = 'dummy1' ]
  c*k = dummy1;
  [ foo = 'eq:dummy2' ]
  log(dummy2) = k + 2;
end;

  model_remove('eq:dummy1', foo = 'eq:dummy2');

In the above example, the last two equations will be removed, dummy1 will be turned into an exogenous, and dummy2 will be removed.

  • block: model_replace (TAGS...);

This block replaces several equations in the model. It removes the equations given by the tags list (with the same syntax as in model_remove), and it adds equations given within the block (with the same syntax as model).

No variable is removed or has its type changed in the process.

Example

var c k;

model;
  c + k - aa*x*k(-1)^alph - (1-delt)*k(-1);
  [ name = 'dummy' ]
  c*k = 1;
end;

model_replace('dummy');
  c^(-gam) = (1+bet)^(-1)*(aa*alph*x(+1)*k^(alph-1) + 1 - delt)*c(+1)^(-gam);
end;

In the above example, the dummy equation is replaced by a proper Euler equation.

Auxiliary variables

The model which is solved internally by Dynare is not exactly the model declared by the user. In some cases, Dynare will introduce auxiliary endogenous variables–-along with corresponding auxiliary equations–-which will appear in the final output.

The main transformation concerns leads and lags. Dynare will perform a transformation of the model so that there is only one lead and one lag on endogenous variables and no leads/lags on exogenous variables.

This transformation is achieved by the creation of auxiliary variables and corresponding equations. For example, if x(+2) exists in the model, Dynare will create one auxiliary variable AUX_ENDO_LEAD = x(+1), and replace x(+2) by AUX_ENDO_LEAD(+1).

A similar transformation is done for lags greater than 2 on endogenous (auxiliary variables will have a name beginning with AUX_ENDO_LAG), and for exogenous with leads and lags (auxiliary variables will have a name beginning with AUX_EXO_LEAD or AUX_EXO_LAG respectively).

Another transformation is done for the EXPECTATION operator. For each occurrence of this operator, Dynare creates an auxiliary variable defined by a new equation, and replaces the expectation operator by a reference to the new auxiliary variable. For example, the expression EXPECTATION(-1)(x(+1)) is replaced by AUX_EXPECT_LAG_1(-1), and the new auxiliary variable is declared as AUX_EXPECT_LAG_1 = x(+2).

Auxiliary variables are also introduced by the preprocessor for the ramsey_model and ramsey_policy commands. In this case, they are used to represent the Lagrange multipliers when first order conditions of the Ramsey problem are computed. The new variables take the form MULT_i, where i represents the constraint with which the multiplier is associated (counted from the order of declaration in the model block).

Auxiliary variables are also introduced by the differentiate_forward_vars option of the model block. The new variables take the form AUX_DIFF_FWRD_i, and are equal to x-x(-1) for some endogenous variable x.

Finally, auxiliary variables will arise in the context of employing the diff-operator.

Once created, all auxiliary variables are included in the set of endogenous variables. The output of decision rules (see below) is such that auxiliary variable names are replaced by the original variables they refer to.

The number of endogenous variables before the creation of auxiliary variables is stored in context.models[1].orig_endo_nbr, and the number of endogenous variables after the creation of auxiliary variables is stored in context.models[1].endogenous_nbr.