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.
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