Premium
Modeling individuals' behavior: Evaluation of a policymaker's tool
Author(s) -
Gustman Alan L.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.4050030203
Subject(s) - strengths and weaknesses , unemployment , microsimulation , computer science , point (geometry) , population , operations research , economics , econometrics , management science , engineering , macroeconomics , transport engineering , psychology , sociology , social psychology , geometry , mathematics , demography
With a continuous decline in the cost of manipulating data and a continuous increase in the richness of data banks, policymakers have increasing opportunities to build and apply so‐called microsimulation models—models that attempt to simulate the behavior of the individuals in a large population under a specified program. The efforts of the Department of Labor to use a model in evaluating proposed changes in the unemployment insurance system point up both the power and the weaknesses of such models. Any user who applies these models without attempting to understand which of their strengths and weaknesses are most important for analyzing the problem at hand is asking for trouble. Easy to use or not, these models are not user‐friendly.