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Social Policy Simulation Database and Model, version 26.0

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Released: 2018-01-08

The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M), version 26.0, is now available. This version can be used to study the effects of changes to federal and provincial tax and benefit programs on families and governments from 1997 through 2023.

The SPSD/M is a tool designed to analyze the financial interactions of governments and individuals/families in Canada. It allows 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 examining the potential effects of changes in taxes, earnings, demographic trends and a wide range of other factors.

Given specified assumptions, 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 pay out or collect?

The SPSD/M includes 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 federal and provincial governments. It is created by statistically combining data from survey and administrative sources including the Canadian Income Survey, the Survey of Household Spending, the T1 Family File, and Employment Insurance administrative data. This is the first version of the SPSD which is based on the Canadian Income Survey.

The SPSM is a static accounting model which 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. Extensive documentation on both the database and model is included with the SPSD/M.

Products

The Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M), version 26.0 (Catalogue number89F0002XCB) is available by Electronic File Transfer.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Chantal Hicks (613-951-5311; statcan.spsdm-bdmsps.statcan@canada.ca), Social Analysis and Modelling Division.

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