Instrumentation for Research in Computionally-Intensive Econometric Methods

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With partial support from the National Science Foundation, the University of California, Berkeley will upgrade its Econometrics Laboratory Scientific Workstation Facility (EML/SWF). Its UNIX network was established in 1991 and designed to support research and instruction in computationally intensive methods in economics, as well as applied research using these methods. Given the number and complexity of the software it supports, the very large size of many economics data bases and the number of users, the present system in inadequate and prone to failure. Under this grant, three compute servers and one file server will be upgraded. Disks will be added that free storage for a planned network gopher server for econometric software and data. The EML/SWF is a facility used by a worldwide network of econometricians who are engaged in research on computer-intensive methods. In addition, the facility is used by 34 members of the Berkeley economics faculty who are conducting 22 organized research projects, and by other economists at Berkeley who need specialized software the facility supports. The EML/SWF provides a broad spectrum of software for algorithm development and econometric applications, in a framework designed for economic research, particularly in computer intensive methods. The facility also supports instruction in the graduate program of the Department of Economics. In addition to a sequence of four semester-long econometrics courses, courses in macroeconomics, labor economics and public finance use the facility to teach technique and to expose students to large economic data sets. Approximately 265 graduate students use the EML/SWF for course work and dissertation research. The upgrade therefore will have a significant positive impact on both research and teaching.