Steady state file vs steady state model block

Dear all,

I need some clarification when one is supposed to use external steady state file and when it is sufficient to use steady state model block. What is the difference between using steady state model block and calculating steady state using local variables (with #-operator)?

And I’d like to have more information on writing external steady state files. I’m relatively new to Matlab and still feel a bit unconfident when writing these files. What could you recommend me to read or what exercices /replications to go through?

Thank you!

Take a look at
Remark 15 (initval vs. steady_state_model vs. steadystate-file)
in Pfeifer(2013): “A Guide to Specifying Observation Equations for the Estimation of DSGE Models”.