However, the history of model development at the Bank of Canada reflects both this quest for synthesis as well as the evolving needs of policy-makers. Each new model has drawn on the strengths of its predecessors while addressing their shortcomings. And throughout this history, advances in both economic theory and computer technology have played an important enabling role.
The Bank began modelling in the 1960s, when staff and visiting academics built RDX—which stood for the Research Department Experimental model. The development of the mainframe computer was essential to this work, but not every institution had one.