Are there methods to enter the steady state other than using the initval commands

[jpfeifer]

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Likelihood only!

Calibration only once updates the other parameters depending on the estimated one. That’s why you should use model-local variables (the ones with the pound operator) or a steady state file. See Remark 4 (Parameter dependence and the use of model-local variables) in Pfeifer(2013): “A Guide to Specifying Observation Equations for the Estimation of DSGE Models” .