Abstract
This paper provides a brief overview of microsimulation modelling, and in particular, a general introduction to and insight into the potential role and usefulness of microsimulation in analysing public policy. Microsimulation has made a major contribution over the past decade to the evaluation of the distributional effects of tax and social security policy reform in Australia. More recently, NATSEM has extended the benefits of these sophisticated quantitative decision support tools to the health and aged care arenas. The paper provides two examples of the innovative use of microsimulation for the analysis of health and aged care policy at both a national and small area level. These are first, MediSim, a model of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and, second, CareMod, a spatial microsimulation model of the need for aged care services in NSW. Various technical aspects are highlighted to illustrate how these socio-economic models are constructed and implemented to help inform and assist with possible responses to increasingly pressing policy issues.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Productivity Commission Conference: Quantitative Tools for Microeconomic Policy Analysis |
| Editors | Gary Banks |
| Place of Publication | Melbourne, Australia |
| Publisher | Australian Government, Productivity Commission |
| Pages | 217-246 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| ISBN (Print) | 1 74037 184 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2004 |
