Introduction to the Works of Rodney C. Wingrove: Engineering Approaches to Macroeconomic Modeling

A continuous-time control model was formulated and fitted to macroeconomic data by an expert control engineer who worked at NASA-AMES in the 1980s, Rodney C. Wingrove. Two articles were prepared and made available to the aerospace industry at that time, however the authors feel that wider distribution of his study posthumously is warranted at this time. This introduction to the two Wingrove articles that follow provides background information on the technologies Wingrove was working with, as well as subsequent developments in both macroeconomic and engineering modeling and analysis technology. Our purpose is to stimulate further research along the same lines which can potentially lead to structural and/or policy rule improvements that can prevent the extremely turbulent abberations that have been seen in recent years, and promote steady growth with low inflation and low unemployment in a sustainable way. Of particular concern is the exploding national debt problem.