Affiliations: [a] Department of Applied Economics, University of
Cambridge, CB3 9DE, UK. E-mail: Terry.Barker@econ.cam.ac.uk
| 601 West 113th Street, #12G, New York, NY 10025, USA. E-mail:
cgrenfro@modler.com
Abstract: The Cambridge Growth Project (CGP) 1960–1987 developed its own software packages
for (1) single-equation then matrix-equation regression analysis and (2) matrix
manipulation, then full dynamic non-linear model solution. The hardware used by
the project was the successor to EDSAC, the Titan computer, succeeded by an IBM
mainframe, and one of the first personal computers, built by Acorn a local
Cambridge company, which was replaced by the standard personal computer running
under DOS. The development of the matrix approach to modelling stemmed from the
emphasis on social accounting associated with the work of Richard Stone. The
software was developed around the concept of the zero-, one-, two- or
three-dimensional tensor (scalar, vector, matrix, or 3D tensor) a powerful way
of organizing data that are both cross-section and time-series. The programs,
written in FORTRAN, that were developed over the period 1973–1978 MREG and IDIOM
are still in use today, although they have gone through many versions, they are
able to manage much larger data sets, and they have become much faster in
operation.
