The team behind ISER’s multi-country Europe-wide tax-benefit model, EUROMOD, has launched a new book, which is one of the first systematic collections of studies based on the European tax-benefit microsimulation model.
The book, Tax and benefit policies in the enlarged Europe: Assessing the impact with microsimulation models has been edited by Orsolya Lelkes and Holly Sutherland and is published by Ashgate. It was launched by the distinguished economist Sir Tony Atkinson, who has also written a chapter, at a special EUROMOD workshop on June 25.
The book brings together some of the first scientific work using the recently enlarged version of the model including Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, as well as paving the way for including the remaining new member states in EUROMOD. It provides novel analysis on the impact of tax and benefit systems on individuals’ incomes and work incentives. Not only are actual policies assessed, but hypothetical scenarios of interest to policy-makers as well, for example the introduction of flat taxes.
EUROMOD can be used to help assess the impact of policies both at the level of the individual, and at a country and cross-Europe level. Earlier this year the team behind the project received a grant to update and upgrade the computer-based model. Work has already begun increase the countries that are included, thus allowing a wider range of comparisons. A number of new researchers are being appointed to join the EUROMOD team in ISER and work is underway to improve further its usefulness as a unique resource for cross-national social science research and policy analysis.