AIM-AP

Background

AIM-AP was an integrated programme of research and development funded by the European Commission (Sixth Framework Programme) aimed at improving the comparability, scope and applicability of tools, methods and data for the measurement of income and the analysis of the effects of policies on inequality, poverty and social inclusion. It started in February 2006 and finished in January 2009.

Aims

The main emphasis of the programme was on the appropriate measurement of income (and its components) as the basis for an improved understanding of the effects of social and fiscal policies, better-informed monitoring of the Social Inclusion process and better policy design.

Description and methods

The programme consisted of three projects:

• Non-cash incomes and the implementation of a more comprehensive income definition
• The implications of (and methods to account for) errors in targeting social benefits, tax evasion and measurement error in income data
• Incorporation of the effects of indirect taxes, along with direct taxes and social benefits, in redistribution analysis

All three projects were designed to improve the degree of comparability of measurement and analysis across countries. Each project focused on a different sub-set of EU countries and developed methodologies within a cross-national perspective, demonstrating their applicability to a wide range of research questions.

The resulting data and method enhancements have been made generally accessible and re-useable by implementing them within EUROMOD. Project partners included:

• Institute for Social and Economic Research
• Centre for Economic Research and Environmental Strategy
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• Economic & Social Research Institute
• Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
• European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
• CentERdata, Universiteit van Tilburg
• Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
• Luxembourg Income Study
• Universiteit Antwerpen
• The Rural Economy Research Centre