Macroeconomic Modeling for All

Dynare is a macroeconomic modeling tool that runs on top of MATLAB^®. It offers a user-friendly and intuitive way of describing these models through a domain-specific language. It is able to perform simulations of those models given a calibration of the model parametersand estimate these parameters given a data set. A large panel of applied mathematics and computer science techniques are internally employed by Dynare: multivariate nonlinear solving and optimization, matrix factorizations, local functional approximation, Kalman filters and smoothers, MCMC techniques for Bayesian estimation, graph algorithms, and optimal control.

Private financial institutions and various public bodies including central banks, ministries of economy and finance, and international organizations use Dynare for performing policy analysis exercises and as a support tool for economic forecasting exercises. In the academic world, Dynare is used for research and for teaching purposes in postgraduate macroeconomics courses.

Dynare is free/libre/open-source software. Over the years, a large community has formed around it, through online forums and dedicated physical events such as scientific conferences and training workshops.

This presentation gives an overview of the project, in its scientific, technical, and social dimensions.