This paper describes microsimulation modelling in non-technical terms and explains what can be achieved with microsimulation modelling in general, and the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator (MITTS) in particular. The focus is on behavioural microsimulation modelling, which takes...

The aim of this paper is to analyse work incentive effects from a recent change in the Australian tax and transfer system on sole parents. Two approaches are used in the analysis: microsimulation and quasi-experimental evaluation. Both approaches examine the effects on the probability of...

This paper presents a method of computing welfare changes (compensating and equivalent variations) arising from a tax or social security policy change, in the context of behavioural microsimulation modelling where individuals can choose between a limited number of discrete hours of work. The...

This paper investigates whether job offers arrive more frequently for those in employment than for those in unemployment. To this end, we take advantage of a unique Australian data set which contains information on both accepted and rejected job offers. Our estimation strategy takes account of...

This paper investigates the persistence over time of living in a jobless household, aiming to disentangle the roles of state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity. In addition, the potential heterogeneity of state dependence is examined through estimation of interaction terms with the lagged...

Demands for formal and informal childcare are estimated using a bivariate Tobit model. Predicted costs of childcare are incorporated in the households’ budget constraints and a discrete choice labour supply model is estimated. Separate models are estimated for couples and lone parents....

This publication is a manual for the use of the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator (MITTS). MITTS provides a tool for analysing policy changes. It allows us to examine the effect of a variety of policy changes on labour supply and income distribution for the Australian.

The assumption behind discrete hours labour supply modelling is that utility-maximising individuals choose from a relatively small number of hours levels, rather than being able to vary hours worked continuously. Such models are becoming widely used in view of their substantial advantages,...

This paper investigates the use of sample reweighting in a behavioural tax microsimulation model, to examine the implications for government taxes and expenditure of population ageing in Australia. First, a calibration approach to sample reweighting is described, producing new weights which...

The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the important issues relating to labour supply of the primary carer in a household. Childcare plays a central role in allowing the primary carer time away from young children in the household. Therefore, childcare use is a central topic of this...