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Social Policy Simulation Database and Model
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M), Version 15.0 based on 2003 microdata, is now available. The most recent SPSD/M can be used to study the impacts of changes to federal and provincial tax and benefit programs on families and governments from 1991 through 2012.
The SPSD/M is a tool designed to analyze the financial interactions of governments and individuals/families in Canada. It enables the estimation of the income redistributive effects or cost implications of changes in the personal taxation (including GST and other commodity taxes) and cash transfer systems. The SPSD/M assists analysts in examining the potential impacts of changes in taxes, earnings, demographic trends, and a wide range of other factors.
The SPSD/M allows analysts to answer "what-if" types of questions. What if there were changes to the taxes Canadians paid or transfers they received—who would gain and who would lose? Would single parent households in a particular province be better off? By how much? How much extra money would federal or provincial governments collect or pay out?
As its name implies, the SPSD/M is comprised of both a database (SPSD) and a model (SPSM). The SPSD is a statistically-representative database of individuals in their family context with enough information on each individual to compute taxes paid to and cash transfers received from the federal and provincial governments. It is created by statistically combining data from survey and administrative sources. The SPSM is a static accounting model that processes each individual and family on the SPSD, calculates transfers and taxes (including income, payroll, and commodity taxes) using legislated or proposed programs and algorithms, and reports on the results. This microsimulation model can be run using a visual interface. Extensive documentation on both the SPSD and the SPSM is included.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3889.
The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model, Version 15.0 (89F0002XCB, $5,000/$12,500), is now available on CD-ROM.
For more information, to order a copy or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Chantal Hicks (613-951-5311; spsdm@statcan.gc.ca), Socio-Economic Analysis and Modeling Division.
