Microsimulation
A Tax-Benefit Microsimulation Model for Namibia
Drawing on the methodological approach used in the construction of SAMOD, in this project a microsimulation model for Namibia – NAMOD – will be developed. NAMOD will be underpinned by the Namibian Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2010 and attempts will be made to simulate a range of tax and benefit policies. The aim of this project is to provide a better understanding of social assistance options, particularly with regard to children, including their impact on poverty and inequality. There is also potential for cross-country comparisons to be undertaken between Namibia and South Africa. The project is funded by UNICEF Namibia.
Social Budget for South Africa
The aim of this project is to develop a social budgeting framework based on the ILO’s modular social budget model. This project is in collaboration with researchers from Oxford Policy Management, and is funded by the Department of Social Development. CASASP’s contribution is focused on using SAMOD underpinned by the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) 2008 to simulate social grants headcount and spend for 2008-2012 and project this forward to 2030. Also using NIDS 2008, CASASP is additionally responsible for analysing the distributional impact of a range of social policies including social assistance, education, health, and private pensions.
Exploring Options for a Youth Grant for South Africa
The aim of this project, led by the Human Sciences Research Council, was to explore options for social security for young people. The CASASP element of the project focused on using SAMOD to simulate new grants and assess their impact on poverty. The project was undertaken for the National Department of Social Development.
Using the National Income Dynamics Study as the Base Micro-dataset for SAMOD
This project sought to develop the first wave of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS 2008) as an underpinning micro-dataset for SAMOD. The project involved collaboration with the Institute of Social Development at the University of the Western Cape, and was funded by the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD), a partnership programme of the Presidency, Republic of South Africa and the Delegation of the European Union.
SAMOD – A South African tax and benefit microsimulation model
The aim of this project was to build a static tax and benefit microsimulation model of the South African tax and benefit system to allow simulation of the costs and potential benefits of policy reforms. Microsimulation is a technique that takes data on individuals, usually from surveys, and calculates the entitlements of individuals and households to social benefits and also the household's tax liability. By aggregating this data to form a representative picture of the whole population it is possible to estimate the effect that policy reforms would have both on national revenue and expenditure and on individual household budgets.
The project was undertaken by CASASP in collaboration with a number of external consultants including Professor Holly Sutherland from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University who made the EUROMOD platform available for this project (a microsimulation model for the EU member states). The project was funded by the Department of Social Development as part of DFID Southern Africa’s SACED programme.
A project workshop was held in Cape Town in February 2008, which included a presentation of the model to members of the Social Cluster in parliament and a two day workshop. Training sessions have been held with members of the South African Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency.