With increasing numbers of young people participating in higher education in Ireland and a heavy reliance of higher education institutions on state funding, the introduction of an alternative finance system for Ireland has been muted over the past number of years. However, no study has been...

In this paper we utilise microsimulation techniques in the form of an income generation model and a tax/benefit model to estimate both the fiscal and net private return to education at a marginal level. This is carried out empirically using Irish data across the period 1987-2005 and is the first...

Microsimulation Modelling involves the application of simulation methods to micro data for the purposes of evaluating the effectiveness and improving the design of public policy. The field has existed for over 50 years and has been applied to many different policy areas and is a methodology that...

This paper provides an account of a South African tax-benefit microsimulation model - SAMOD - which has been developed for use by government over the past ten years. The two datasets that underpin the current version of SAMOD are introduced, and the model's tax and benefit policies are described...