The models are used to estimate tax revenues in the public sector, to examine the financial positions of individual persons and households, and to study income differentials and incentive effects.
Model features
The SISU model is a static microsimulation model. A static model does not take into consideration any possible behavioural effects caused by reforms in legislation (e.g. labour supply) or long-term dynamics. A static simulation model is thus suitable for assessing the immediate and potential effects of different policy alternatives.
Data simulation and fictional data simulation
The model can be used for both data simulation and fictional data simulation. Fictional data simulation can be used to make simulation for certain types of persons or households generated by the user by calculating taxes, benefits and disposable income for them. With fictional data simulation, the operation of the income transfer and taxation systems can be described easily and swiftly by simulating a person's net income after a certain legislative amendment, for example.
However, the results of fictional data simulation cannot be generalised to a larger part of the population or the whole population. For this purpose, data simulation is used, where calculation is made on individual-level data representing the whole population. It can be used to calculate the effects of legislative amendments or measures made to the income transfer system on income distribution and on the financial position of different population groups and the entire public finance.