Training event: Enhanced analysis with MicroZAMOD, a tax-benefit microsimulation model for Zambia

United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), the EUROMOD team at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex in the UK, and Southern African Social Policy Research Insights (SASPRI) have embarked on a collaboration called SOUTHMOD, to promote tax-benefit microsimulation modelling in developing countries using the EUROMOD tax-benefit microsimulation software. 

EUROMOD has been developed by Professor Holly Sutherland and colleagues over many years with funding from the European Commission, and Zambia is one of the first developing countries to use the EUROMOD software. The current version of MicroZAMOD is a stand-alone tax-benefit microsimulation model which was developed using the EUROMOD software, and was built in collaboration with colleagues at ZIPAR.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is working with the SOUTHMOD team in Zambia to promote MicroZAMOD across government.

As part of the SOUTHMOD collaboration, the ILO, UNU-WIDER, ZIPAR and SASPRI organised an initial training event about MicroZAMOD in November 2017 for members of the Zambian Government and academia. At the end of that training event the participants formed a Technical Working Group and expressed a wish for further training in MicroZAMOD. In response to this, the ILO, UNU-WIDER, ZIPAR and SASPRI organise a second training event on the MicroZAMOD in Lusaka, Zambia.

The purpose of this event is to further develop participants’ knowledge of and expertise in working with MicroZAMOD. The training commences with a refresher session on the key principles and methods of MicroZAMOD. After the refresher, the focus of the training is on enhancing participants’ skills through a series of practical exercises. As a result, attendees have a greater understanding of how to build and implement a range of policy reform scenarios.