Dynare forums

Dear Johhanes,

Could you please help explain how to choose the number of mh_nblocks? Some people set mh_blokcs=1, while others set mh_blocks=2 or more. I feel a little confused.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Huan

In principle, one chain with many draws is sufficient. Two chains allow for an often better check whether your chains have converged, because you can compare the results of the two chains. With one chain, you can only compare the later part of the chain to an earlier one, which can give wrong signals if the chain simply did not move.
However, if your chain converges, it does not matter that you only used one.

jpfeifer wrote:In principle, one chain with many draws is sufficient. Two chains allow for an often better check whether your chains have converged, because you can compare the results of the two chains. With one chain, you can only compare the later part of the chain to an earlier one, which can give wrong signals if the chain simply did not move.
However, if your chain converges, it does not matter that you only used one.

Thank you very much.