Announcement for Dynare 4.4.0 (on 2013-12-11)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.4.0.

This major release adds new features and fixes various bugs.

The Windows package is already available for download. The Mac and
Debian/Ubuntu packages should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

This release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.3 (R2006b) to
8.2 (R2013b) and with GNU Octave version 3.6.

Here is the list of major user-visible changes:


* New major algorithms:

 - Extended path at order 1 and above, also known as “stochastic extended
   path”. This method is triggered by setting the `order' option of the
   `extended_path' command to a value greater than 0. Dynare will then use a
   Gaussian quadrature to take into account the effects of future uncertainty.
   The time series for the endogenous variables are generated by assuming that
   the agents believe that there will no more shocks after period t+order.

 - Alternative algorithms for computing decision rules of a stochastic model,
   based on the cycle reduction and logarithmic reduction algorithms. These
   methods are respectively triggered by giving `dr = cycle_reduction' or 'dr
   = logarithmic_reduction' as an option to the `stoch_simul' command.

 - Pruning now works with 3rd order approximation, along the lines of
   Andreasen, Fernández-Villaverde and Rubio-Ramírez (2013).

 - Computation of conditional forecast using an extended path method. This is
   triggered by the new option `simulation_type = deterministic' in the
   `conditional_forecast' command. In this case, the `expectation' command in
   the `conditional_forecast_paths' block has to be used to indicate the nature
   of expectations (whether shocks are a surprise or are perfectly
   anticipated).

 - Endogenous priors as in Christiano, Trabandt and Walentin (2011). Those are
   triggered by the new option `endogenous_prior' of the `estimation' command.


* Other algorithmic improvements:

 - New command `model_diagnostics' to perform various sanity checks on the
   model. Note: in the past, some users may have used a preliminary MATLAB
   function implementing this; the new command has the same syntax, except that
   you shouldn't pass any argument to it.

 - Terminal conditions of perfect foresight simulations can now be specified in
   growth rates. More specifically, the new option `differentiate_forward_vars'
   of the `model' block will create auxiliary forward looking variables
   expressed in first differences or growth rates of the actual forward looking
   variables defined in the model. These new variables have obvious zero
   terminal conditions whatever the simulation context and this in many cases
   helps convergence of simulations.

 - Convergence diagnostics for single chain MCMC à la Geweke (1992, 1999).

 - New optimizer for the posterior mode (triggered by `mode_compute=10'): it
   uses the simpsa algorithm, based on the combination of the non-linear
   simplex and simulated annealing algorithms and proposed by Cardoso, Salcedo
   and Feyo de Azevedo (1996).

 - The automatic detrending engine has been extended to work on models written
   in logs. The corresponding trend variable type is `log_trend_var', and the
   corresponding deflator type is `log_deflator'.


* New features in the user interface:

 - New set of functions for easily creating PDF reports including figures and
   tables. See the “Reporting” section in the reference manual for more
   details.

 - New MATLAB/Octave classes for handling time series. See the “Time series”
   section in the reference manual for more details.

 - Datafiles in CSV format can now be used for estimation.

 - New macro processor `length' operator, returns the length of an array.

 - New option `all_values_required' of `initval' and `endval' blocks: enforces
   initialization of all endogenous and exogenous variables within the block.

 - Option `ar' can now be given to the `estimation' command.

 - New options `nograph', `nointeractive' and `nowarn' to the `dynare' command,
   for a better control of what is displayed.

 - New option `nostrict' to the `dynare' command, for allowing Dynare to
   continue processing when there are more endogenous variables than equations
   or when an undeclared symbol is assigned in `initval' or `endval'.

 - The information on MCMC acceptance rates, seeds, last log posterior
   likelihood, and last parameter draw are now saved on the disk and can
   be displayed with `internals --display-mh-history' or loaded into the
   workspace with `internals --load-mh-history'.

 - New options `mode_check_neighbourhood_size', `mode_check_symmetric_plots'
   and `mode_check_number_of_points', for a better control of the diagnostic
   plots.

 - New option `parallel_local_files' of `model' block, for transferring extra
   files during parallel computations.

 - New option `clock' of `set_dynare_seed', for setting a different seed at
   each run.

 - New option `qz_zero_threshold' of the `check', `stoch_simul' and
   `estimation' commands, for a better control of the situation where a
   generalized eigenvalue is close to 0/0.

 - New `verbatim' block for inclusion of text that should pass through the
   preprocessor and be placed as is in the `modfile.m' file.

 - New option `mcmc_jumping_covariance' of the `estimation' command, for a
   better control of the covariance matrix used for the proposal density of the
   MCMC sampler.

 - New option `use_calibration' of the `estimated_params_init', for using the
   calibration of deep parameters and the elements of the covariance matrix
   specified in the `shocks' block as starting values for the estimation.

 - New option `save_draws' of the `ms_simulation' command.

 - New option `irf_plot_threshold' of the `stoch_simul' and `estimation'
   commands, for a better control of the display of IRFs which are almost nil.

 - New option `long_name' for endogenous, exogenous and parameter declarations,
   which can be used to declare a long name for variables. That long name can
   be programmatically retrieved in `M_.endo_names_long'.


* Miscellaneous changes

 - The deciles of some posterior moments were erroneously saved in a field
   `Distribution' under `oo_'. This field is now called `deciles', for
   consistency with other posterior moments and with the manual. Similarly, the
   fields `Mean', `Median', `HPDsup', `HPDinf', and `Variance' are now
   consistently capitalized.

 - The console mode now implies the `nodisplay' option.


* Bugs and problems identified in version 4.3.3 and that have been fixed in
  version 4.4.0:

 - In an `endval' block, auxiliary variables were not given the right value.
   This would not result in wrong results, but could prevent convergence of
   the steady state computation.

 - Deterministic simulations with `stack_solve_algo=0' (the default value) were
   crashing if some exogenous had a lag strictly greater than 1.

 - When using the `mode_file' option, the initial estimation checks were not
   performed for the loaded mode, but for the original starting values. Thus,
   potential prior violations by the mode only appeared during estimation,
   leading to potentially cryptic crashes and error messages.

 - If a shock/measurement error variance was set to 0 in calibration, the
   correlation matrix featured a 0 instead of a 1 on the diagonal, leading to
   wrong estimation results.

 - In the presence of calibrated covariances, estimation did not enforce
   positive definiteness of the covariance matrix.

 - Estimation using the `diffuse_filter' option together with the univariate
   Kalman filter and a diagonal measurement error matrix was broken.

 - A purely backward model with `k_order_solver' was leading to crashes of
   MATLAB/Octave.

 - Non-linear estimation was not skipping the specified presample when
   computing the likelihood.

 - IRFs and theoretical moments at order > 1 were broken for purely
   forward-looking models.

 - Simulated moments with constant variables was leading to crashes when
   displaying autocorrelations.

 - The `osr' command was sometimes crashing with cryptic error messages because
   of some unaccounted error codes returned from a deeper routine.

 - The check for stochastic singularity during initial estimation checks was
   broken.

 - Recursive estimation starting with the pathological case of `nobs=1' was
   crashing.

 - Conditional variance decomposition within or after estimation was crashing
   when at least one shock had been calibrated to zero variance.

 - The `estimated_params_init' and `estimated_params_bounds' blocks were broken
   for correlations.

 - The `filter_step_ahead' option was not producing any output in Bayesian
   estimation.

 - Deterministic simulations were sometimes erroneously indicating convergence
   although the residuals were actually NaN or Inf.

 - Supplying a user function in the `mode_compute' option was leading to
   a crash.

 - Deterministic simulation of models without any exogenous variable was
   crashing.

 - The MS-SBVAR code was not updating files between runs on Windows. This means
   that if a MOD file was updated between runs in the same folder and a
   `file_tag' was not changed, then the results would not change.

 - The `ramsey_policy' command was not putting in `oo_.planner_objective_value'
   the value of the planner objective at the optimum.


* References:

 - Andreasen, Martin M., Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, and Juan Rubio-Ramírez
   (2013): “The Pruned State-Space System for Non-Linear DSGE Models: Theory
   and Empirical Applications,” NBER Working Paper, 18983

 - Cardoso, Margarida F., R. L. Salcedo and S. Feyo de Azevedo (1996): “The
   simplex simulated annealing approach to continuous non-linear optimization,”
   Computers chem. Engng, 20(9), 1065-1080

 - Christiano, Lawrence J., Mathias Trabandt and Karl Walentin (2011):
   “Introducing financial frictions and unemployment into a small open economy
   model,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 35(12), 1999-2041

 - Geweke, John (1992): “Evaluating the accuracy of sampling-based approaches
   to the calculation of posterior moments,” in J.O. Berger, J.M. Bernardo,
   A.P. Dawid, and A.F.M. Smith (eds.) Proceedings of the Fourth Valencia
   International Meeting on Bayesian Statistics, pp. 169-194, Oxford University
   Press

 - Geweke, John (1999): “Using simulation methods for Bayesian econometric
   models: Inference, development and communication,” Econometric Reviews,
   18(1), 1-73


Announcement for Dynare 4.3.3 (on 2013-04-12)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.3.3.

This is a bugfix release.

The Windows packages are already available for download at:

 http://www.dynare.org/download/dynare-stable

The Mac and GNU/Linux packages (for Debian and Ubuntu) should follow soon.

All users are encouraged to upgrade.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
8.1 (R2013a) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.2 to 3.6.

Here is a list of the problems identified in version 4.3.2 and that have been
fixed in version 4.3.3:

 - Estimation with measurement errors was wrong if a correlation between two
   measurement errors was calibrated

 - Option `use_dll' was broken under Windows

 - Degenerate case of purely static models (no leads/no lags) were not
   correctly handled

 - Deterministic simulations over a single period were not correctly done

 - The sensitivity call `dynare_sensitivity(identification=1,morris=2)' was
   buggy when there are no shocks estimated

 - Calls to `shock_decomposition' after using `selected_variables_only' option
   fail

 - Sometimes, only the last open graph was saved, leading to missing and
   duplicate EPS/PDF graphs

 - Forecasting after maximum likelihood estimation when not forecasting at
   least one observed variables (`var_obs') was leading to crashes

 - Some functionalities were crashing with MATLAB 8.1/R2013a (bytecode,
   MS-SBVAR)

 - Sometimes only the first order autocorrelation of `moments_varendo' was
   saved instead of all up to the value of `ar' option


Announcement for Dynare 4.3.2 (on 2013-01-18)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.3.2.

This is a bugfix release.

The Windows packages are already available for download at:

 http://www.dynare.org/download/dynare-stable

The Mac and GNU/Linux packages (for Debian and Ubuntu) should follow soon.

All users are encouraged to upgrade.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
8.0 (R2012b) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.2 to 3.6.

Here is a list of the problems identified in version 4.3.1 and that have been
fixed in version 4.3.2:

 - Computation of posterior distribution of unconditional variance
   decomposition was sometimes crashing (only for very large models)

 - Estimation with `mode_compute=6' was sometimes crashing

 - Derivative of erf() function was incorrect

 - The `check' command was not setting `oo_.dr.eigval' unless `stoch_simul' was
   also used

 - Computation of conditional forecast when the constraint is only on
   one period was buggy

 - Estimation with `mode_compute=3' was crashing under Octave


Announcement for Dynare 4.3.1 (on 2012-10-10)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.3.1. This release adds a few
minor features and fixes various bugs.

The Windows and Mac packages are already available for download at:

 http://www.dynare.org/download/dynare-stable

The GNU/Linux packages (for Debian and Ubuntu) should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
8.0 (R2012b) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.2 to 3.6.

Here is the list of the main user-visible changes:


* New features in the user interface:

 - New `@#ifndef' directive in the macro-processor

 - Possibility of simultaneously specifying several output formats in the
   `graph_format' option

 - Support for XLSX files in `datafile' option of `estimation' and in
   `initval_file'


* Bugs and problems identified in version 4.3.0 and that have been fixed in
  version 4.3.1:

 - Shock decomposition was broken

 - The welfare computation with `ramsey_policy' was buggy when used in
   conjunction with `histval'

 - Estimation of models with both missing observations and measurement errors
   was buggy

 - The option `simul_replic' was broken

 - The macro-processor directive `@#ifdef' was broken

 - Identification with `max_dim_cova_group > 1' was broken for specially
   degenerate models (when parameter theta has pairwise collinearity of one
   with multiple other parameters, i.e. when all couples (theta,b), (theta,c),
   ... (theta,d) have perfect collinearity in the Jacobian of the model)

 - The `parallel_test' option was broken

 - Estimation with correlated shocks was broken when the correlations were
   specified in terms of correlation and not in terms of co-variance

 - The Windows package was broken with MATLAB 7.1 and 7.2

 - When using `mode_compute=0' with a mode file generated using
   `mode_compute=6', the value of option `mh_jscale' was not loaded

 - Using exogenous deterministic variables at 2nd order was causing a crash

 - The option `no_create_init' for the `ms_estimation' command was broken

 - Loading of datafiles with explicit filename extensions was not working

 - The preprocessor had a memory corruption problem which could randomly lead
   to crashes


Announcement for Dynare 4.3.0 (on 2012-06-15)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.3.0. This major release adds
new features and fixes various bugs.

The Windows and Mac packages are already available for download at:

 http://www.dynare.org/download/dynare-4.3

The GNU/Linux packages should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
7.14 (R2012a) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.2 to 3.6.

Here is the list of the main user-visible changes:


* New major algorithms:

 - Nonlinear estimation with a particle filter based on a second order
   approximation of the model, as in Fernández-Villaverde and Rubio-Ramírez
   (2005); this is triggered by setting `order=2' in the `estimation' command

 - Extended path solution method as in Fair and Taylor (1983); see the
   `extended_path' command

 - Support for Markov-Switching Structural Bayesian VARs (MS-SBVAR) along the
   lines of Sims, Waggoner and Zha (2008) (see the dedicated section in the
   reference manual)

 - Optimal policy under discretion along the lines of Dennis (2007); see the
   `discretionary_policy' command

 - Identification analysis along the lines of Iskrev (2010); see the
   `identification' command

 - The Global Sensitivity Analysis toolbox (Ratto, 2008) is now part of the
   official Dynare distribution


* Other algorithmic improvements:

 - Stochastic simulation and estimation can benefit from block decomposition
   (with the `block' option of `model'; only at 1st order)

 - Possibility of running smoother and filter on a calibrated model; see the
   `calib_smoother' command

 - Possibility of doing conditional forecast on a calibrated model; see the
   `parameter_set=calibration' option of the `conditional_forecast' command

 - The default algorithm for deterministic simulations has changed and is now
   based on sparse matrices; the historical algorithm (Laffargue, Boucekkine
   and Juillard) is still available under the `stack_solve_algo=6'option of the
   `simul' command

 - Possibility of using an analytic gradient for the estimation; see the
   `analytic_derivation' option of the `estimation' command

 - Implementation of the Nelder-Mead simplex based optimization routine for
   computing the posterior mode; available under the `mode_compute=8' option of
   the `estimation' command

 - Implementation of the CMA Evolution Strategy algorithm for computing the
   posterior mode; available under the `mode_compute=9' option of the
   `estimation' command

 - New solvers for Lyapunov equations which can accelerate the estimation of
   large models; see the `lyapunov' option of the `estimation' command

 - New solvers for Sylvester equations which can accelerate the resolution of
   large models with block decomposition; see the `sylvester' option of the
   `stoch_simul' and `estimation' commands

 - The `ramsey_policy' command now displays the planner objective value
   function under Ramsey policy and stores it in `oo_.planner_objective_value'

 - Theoretical autocovariances are now computed when the `block' option is
   present

 - The `linear' option is now compatible with the `block' and `bytecode'
   options

 - The `loglinear' option now works with purely backward or forward models at
   first order


* New features in the user interface:

 - New mathematical primitives allowed in model block: `abs()', `sign()'

 - The behavior with respect to graphs has changed:

    + By default, Dynare now displays graphs and saves them to disk in EPS
      format only

    + The format can be changed to PDF or FIG with the new `graph_format'
      option

    + It is possible to save graphs to disk without displaying them with the
      new `nodisplay' option

 - New `nocheck' option to the `steady' command: tells not to check the steady
   state and accept values given by the user (useful for models with unit
   roots)

 - A series of deterministic shocks can be passed as a pre-defined vector in
   the `values' statement of a `shocks' block

 - New option `sub_draws' in the `estimation' command for controlling the
   number of draws used in computing the posterior distributions of various
   objects

 - New macroprocessor command `@#ifdef' for testing if a macro-variable is
   defined

 - New option `irf_shocks' of the `stoch_simul' command, to allow IRFs to be
   created only for certain exogenous variables

 - In the parallel engine, possibility of assigning different weights to nodes
   in the cluster and of creating clusters comprised of nodes with different
   operating systems (see the relevant section in the reference manual)

 - It is now possible to redefine a parameter in the `steady_state_model' block
   (use with caution)

 - New option `maxit' in the `simul' and `steady' commands to determine the
   maximum number of iterations of the nonlinear solver

 - New option `homotopy_force_continue' in the `steady' command to control the
   behavior when a homotopy fails

 - Possibility of globally altering the defaults of options by providing a file
   in the `GlobalInitFile' field of the configuration file (use with caution)

 - New option `nolog' to the `dynare' command line to avoid creating a logfile

 - New option `-D' to the `dynare' command line with for defining
   macro-variables


* Miscellaneous changes:

 - The `use_dll' option of `model' now creates a MEX file for the static model
   in addition to that for the dynamic model

 - The `unit_root_vars' command is now obsolete; use the `diffuse_filter'
   option of the `estimation' command instead

 - New option `--burn' to Dynare++ to discard initial simulation points

 - New top-level MATLAB/Octave command `internals' for internal documentation
   and unitary tests


* Bugs and problems identified in version 4.2.5 and that have been fixed in
  version 4.3.0:

 - Backward models with the `loglinear' option were incorrectly handled

 - Solving for hyperparameters of inverse gamma priors was sometimes crashing

 - The deterministic solver for purely forward models was broken

 - When running `estimation' or `identification' on models with non-diagonal
   structural error covariance matrices, while not simultaneously estimating
   the correlation between shocks (i.e. calibrating the correlation), the
   off-diagonal elements were incorrectly handled or crashes were occuring

 - When using the `prefilter' option, smoother plots were omitting the smoothed
   observables

 - In the rare case of entering and expression x as x^(alpha-1) with x being 0
   in steady state and alpha being a parameter equal to 2, the Jacobian was
   evaluating to 0 instead of 1

 - Setting the prior for shock correlations was failing if a lower bound was not
   explicitly specified


* References:

 - Dennis, Richard (2007): “Optimal Policy In Rational Expectations Models: New
   Solution Algorithms,” Macroeconomic Dynamics, 11(1), 31–55

 - Fair, Ray and John Taylor (1983): “Solution and Maximum Likelihood
   Estimation of Dynamic Nonlinear Rational Expectation Models,” Econometrica,
   51, 1169–1185

 - Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús and Juan Rubio-Ramírez (2005): “Estimating
   Dynamic Equilibrium Economies: Linear versus Nonlinear Likelihood,” Journal
   of Applied Econometrics, 20, 891–910

 - Iskrev, Nikolay (2010): “Local identification in DSGE models,” Journal of
   Monetary Economics, 57(2), 189–202

 - Ratto, Marco (2008): “Analysing DSGE models with global sensitivity
   analysis'', Computational Economics, 31, 115–139

 - Sims, Christopher A., Daniel F. Waggoner and Tao Zha (2008): “Methods for
   inference in large multiple-equation Markov-switching models,” Journal of
   Econometrics, 146, 255–274



Announcement for Dynare 4.2.5 (on 2012-03-14)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.5.

This is a bugfix release.

The Windows package for the new release is already available for download at
the official Dynare website <http://www.dynare.org>. The Mac and Linux packages
should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
7.14 (R2012a) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.0 to 3.6.

Note that GNU Octave users under Windows will have to upgrade to GNU Octave
version 3.6.1 (MinGW). The Octave installer can be downloaded at:

 http://www.dynare.org/octave/Octave3.6.1_gcc4.6.2_20120303-setup.exe

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the problems identified in version 4.2.4 and
that have been fixed in version 4.2.5:

 * The MATLAB optimization toolbox was sometimes not correctly detected even
   when installed

 * Using the inverse gamma distribution with extreme hyperparameter values
   could lead to a crash

 * Various issues in the accelerated deterministic solver with block
   decomposition

 * Various issues in the parallelization engine

 * Compatibility issues with the Global Sensitivity Analysis toolbox

 * The Dynare++ binary was broken in the Windows package because of a missing
   dynamic library


Announcement for Dynare 4.2.4 (on 2011-12-02)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.4.

This is a bugfix release. It comes only a few days after the previous release,
because version 4.2.3 was affected by a critical bug (see below).

The Windows package for the new release is already available for download at
the official Dynare website <http://www.dynare.org>. The Mac and Linux packages
should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade, especially those who have
installed the buggy 4.2.3 release.

The new release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14) to
7.13 (R2011b) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.0 to 3.4.

Here is the list of the problems identified in version 4.2.3 and that have been
fixed in version 4.2.4:

 * Second order approximation was broken for most models, giving incorrect
   results (this problem only affects version 4.2.3, not previous versions)

 * Bayesian priors with inverse gamma distribution and very small variances
   were giving incorrect results in some cases

 * The `model_diagnostics' command was broken


Announcement for Dynare 4.2.3 (on 2011-11-30)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.3.

This is a bugfix release.

The Windows package is already available for download at the official
Dynare website <http://www.dynare.org>. The Mac and Linux packages
should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

This release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14)
to 7.13 (R2011b) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.0 to 3.4.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the problems identified in version 4.2.2 and
that have been fixed in version 4.2.3:

 * `steady_state_model' was broken for lags higher than 2

 * `simult_.m' was not working correctly with `order=3' if `k_order_solver' had
   not been explicitly specified

 * `stoch_simul' with `order=3' and without `periods' option was reporting
   dummy theoretical moments

 * Under Octave, option `solve_algo=0' was causing crashes in `check' and
   `stoch_simul'

 * Identification module was broken

 * The test for singularity in the model reporting eigenvalues close to 0/0 was
   sometimes reporting false positives

 * The `conditional_variance_decomposition' option was not working if one
   period index was 0. Now, Dynare reports an error if the periods are not
   strictly positive.

 * Second order approximation was buggy if one variable was not present at the
   current period


Announcement for Dynare 4.2.2 (on 2011-10-04)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.2.

This is a bugfix release.

The Windows package is already available for download at the official
Dynare website <http://www.dynare.org>. The Mac and Linux packages
should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

This release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14)
to 7.13 (R2011b) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.0 to 3.4.

Here is a list of the problems identified in version 4.2.1 and that have
been fixed in version 4.2.2:

 * The secondary rank test following the order test of the Blanchard and
   Kahn condition was faulty and almost never triggered

 * The variance prior for BVAR “à la Sims” with only one lag was
   inconsistent.  The solution implemented consists of adding one extra
   observation in the presample used to compute the prior; as a
   consequence, the numerical results for all estimations will be
   slightly different in future releases (thanks to Marek Jarociński for
   spotting this)

 * The `conditional_forecast' command was buggy: it was always using the
   posterior mode, whatever the value of the `parameter_set' option

 * `STEADY_STATE' was not working correctly with certain types of
   expressions (the priority of the addition and substraction operators
   was incorrectly handled)

 * With the `block' option of `model', the preprocessor was failing on
   expressions of the form "a^b" (with no endogenous in "a" but an
   endogenous in "b")

 * Some native MATLAB statements were not correctly passed on to MATLAB
   (e.g.  x = { 'foo' 'bar' } )

 * `external_function' was crashing in some circumstances

 * The lambda parameter for HP filter was restricted to integer values
   for no good reason

 * The `load_mh_file' option of `estimation' was crashing under Octave
   for Windows (MinGW version)

 * Computation of steady state was failing on model contains auxiliary
   variables created by leads or lags larger than 2 or by of the
   `EXPECTATION' operator

 * Compilation of MEX files for MATLAB was failing with GCC 4.6


Announcement for Dynare 4.2.1 (on 2011-05-24)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.1.

Many bugs have been fixed since the previous release. The reference
manual has also been improved: new contents has been added at various
places, the structure has been improved, an index of functions and
variables has been added, the PDF/HTML rendering has been improved.

The Windows package is already available for download at the official
Dynare website [1]. The Mac and Linux packages should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

This release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 7.0 (R14)
to 7.12 (R2011a) and with GNU Octave versions ranging from 3.0 to 3.4.

Here is a list of the main bugfixes since version 4.2.0:

 * The `STEADY_STATE' operator has been fixed

 * Problems with MATLAB 7.3 (R2006b) and older have been fixed

 * The `partial_information' option of `stoch_simul' has been fixed

 * Option `conditional_variance_decomposition' of `stoch_simul' and
   `estimation' has been fixed
 
 * Automatic detrending now works in conjunction with the `EXPECTATION'
   operator

 * Percentage signs inside strings in MATLAB statements (like disp('%
   This is not a comment %')) now work

 * Beta prior with a very small standard deviation now work even if you
   do not have the MATLAB Statistical toolbox

 * External functions can now been used in assignment of model local
   variables

 * `identification' command has been fixed

 * Option `cova_compute' of `estimation' command has been fixed

 * Random crashes with 3rd order approximation without `use_dll' option
   have been eliminated

[1] http://www.dynare.org


Announcement for Dynare 4.2.0 (on 2011-02-15)
=============================================

We are pleased to announce the release of Dynare 4.2.0.

This major release adds new features and fixes various bugs.

The Windows package is already available for download. The Mac and Linux
packages should follow soon.

All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade.

This release is compatible with MATLAB versions ranging from 6.5 (R13) to 7.11
(R2010b) and with GNU Octave versions 3.0.x and 3.2.x (support for GNU Octave
3.4.x is not complete and will be added in the next minor release).

Here is the list of major user-visible changes:

* New solution algorithms: 

  - Pruning for second order simulations has been added, as described in Kim,
    Kim, Schaumburg and Sims (2008) [1,2]

  - Models under partial information can be solved, as in Pearlman, Currie and
    Levine (1986) [3,4]

  - New nonlinear solvers for faster deterministic simulations and steady state
    computation [5]

* Dynare can now use the power of multi-core computers or of a cluster of
  computer using parallelization [6]

* New features in the user interface:

  - A steady state file can now be automatically generated, provided that the
    model can be solved analytically, and that the steady state as a function
    of the parameters is declared with the new "steady_state_model" command [7]

  - For non-stationary models, Dynare is now able of automatically removing
    trends in all the equations: the user writes the equations in
    non-stationary form and declares the deflator of each variable. Then Dynare
    perform a check to determine if the proposed deflators are compatible with
    balanced growth path, and, if yes, then it computes the detrended equations
    [8]

  - It is now possible to use arbitrary functions in the model block [9]

* Other minor changes to the user interface:

  - New primitives allowed in model block: normpdf(), erf()

  - New syntax for DSGE-VAR [10]

  - Syntax of deterministic shocks has changed: after the values keyword,
    arbitrary expressions must be enclosed within parentheses (but numeric
    constants are still accepted as is) 

* Various improvements:

  - Third order simulations now work without the "USE_DLL" option:
    installing a C++ compiler is no longer necessary for 3rd order

  - The HP filter works for empirical moments (previously it was only available
    for theoretical moments)

  - "ramsey_policy" now displays the planner objective value function under
    Ramsey policy and stores it in "oo_.planner_objective_value"

  - Estimation: if the "selected_variables_only" option is present, then the
    smoother will only be run on variables listed just after the estimation
    command

  - Estimation: in the "shocks" block, it is now possible to calibrate
    measurement errors on endogenous variables (using the same keywords than
    for calibrating variance/covariance matrix of exogenous shocks)

  - It is possibile to choose the parameter set for shock decomposition [11]

  - The diffuse filter now works under Octave

  - New option "console" on the Dynare command-line: use it when running Dynare
    from the console, it will replace graphical waitbars by text waitbars for
    long computations

  - Steady option "solve_algo=0" (uses fsolve()) now works under Octave 

* For Emacs users:

   - New Dynare mode for Emacs editor (contributed by Yannick Kalantzis)

   - Reference manual now available in Info format (distributed with
     Debian/Ubuntu packages)

* Miscellaneous:

   - Deterministic models: leads and lags of two or more on endogenous
     variables are now substituted by auxiliary variables; exogenous variables
     are left as is [12]

[1] Kim, J., S. Kim, E. Schaumburg and C.A. Sims (2008), "Calculating and using
    second-order accurate solutions of discrete time dynamic equilibrium
    models", Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 32(11), 3397-3414
[2] It is triggered by option "pruning" of "stoch_simul" (only 2nd order, not
    available at 3rd order)
[3] Pearlman J., D. Currie and P. Levine (1986), "Rational expectations models
    with partial information", Economic Modelling, 3(2), 90-105
[4] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/PartialInformation
[5] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/FastDeterministicSimulationAndSteadyStateComputation
[6] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/ParallelDynare
[7] See the entry for "steady_state_model" in the reference manual for more
    details and an example
[8] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/RemovingTrends
[9] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/ExternalFunctions
[10] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/DsgeVar
[11] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/ShockDecomposition
[12] http://www.dynare.org/DynareWiki/AuxiliaryVariables
