What?

The microsimulation model typically calculates all taxes and benefits twice for all (fictitious) individuals or households in our micro-data, once pre-reform and once post-reform. The model then proceeds towards making this calculated impact insightful to users by means of presenting an extensive analysis and visualization. A first step consists in combining the different calculated taxes, benefits and other variables into meaningful measures such as paid taxes, received benefits, different income concepts as well as measures of wellbeing. In a second step, we combine this information with the socio-economic information that we have about the population to present a detailed picture of the chosen reform’s impact. The online interface first presents a global summary page, where one single number is presented for each of a series of impact dimensions (e.g., household disposable income, inequality, poverty, state budget, etc.). We deliberately choose to bring all these dimensions together on one single page to underline that there are many facets to the impact of each possible policy reform, and it is generally unwise to focus only on one single impact dimension. Each of these impact dimensions is analyzed in more detail in the specific output pages.

An invitation

The output analysis and visualization pages in Beamm are in constant development and always up for further improvement. We welcome suggestions for additional analyses and visualizations. If you have such suggestions, we invite you to contact us (see contact pages in the top menu bar) and describe exactly what you would like to see and why. While we cannot incorporate all possible ideas, we certainly do welcome them.