March 2024
Training on Indirect Tax Tool of EUROMOD for Staff from the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) (20-03-2024)
JRC team on Consumption Taxation (AMORES Antonio F., DE AGOSTINI Paola, DREONI Ilda and RICCI Mattia) trained staff from the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) on the usage of the Indirect Tax Tool of EUROMOD. This training was the continuation of the basic EUROMOD training that JRC EUROMOD team (PICOS Fidel, PAPINI Andrea and RICCI Mattia) delivered to them in Frankfurt in late January.
In this occasion, 40 staff from 19 central banks and ECB joined the training which was very much thanked by the leaders of the ESCB microsimulation network (MSN).
These trainings follows an initiative of the Working Group on Public Finance of the ESCB to set a MSN given that microsimulation is a technique not very used among central bankers which huge potential was shown in the sucessful joint paper between JRC and a group of ESCB, that has been highly cited also by media, the president of the ECB, etc. This has been a good practice example of interinstitutional collaboration and now a formal collaboration agreement between ECB and JRC is being negotiatied to cover these and related activities.
6th annual Fiscal Policy analysis workshop (07-03-2024)
JRC organised its 6th annual Fiscal Policy analysis workshop this week in Sevilla, gathering economists from universities and research centers to discuss their latest research and JRC recent scientific outputs. It was once again a great success!
Congratulations to the organisers NAIMER Sabine, CRUCES Hugo, NTELIS Fotis and HERNANDEZ Rocio!
This year we could enjoy a very interesting keynote speech given by Mila Paniagua, from the Spanish tax Agency and formerly Secretary General for Social Inclusion in the Spanish government. Mila was one of the key persons behind the recent adoption of the Minimum Income in Spain. She is also a close friend of JRC, leading the Spanish team EUROMOD national team during her time at the Instituto de Estudio Fiscales. Her speech was very inspriring, dealing with the use of big data and AI to support social policy making and plenty of food for thought for the design of policies aiming at leaving nobody behind during the twin transition.
February 2024
Key role of EUROMOD in the Commission’s initiative for better distributional impact assessments of Member States’ policy reforms (14-02-2024)
In order to promote a more systematic use of distributional impact assessment (DIA) across Member States, the European Commission organises conferences and mutual learning events, which constitute a forum for exchange of practices between national experts.
The ‘8th Mutual Learning Event on DIA: Reflecting on progress and looking ahead’ took place last week in Brussels. The event was organised by DG EMPL and gathered representatives and from almost all Member States, as well as from SPC, EMCO, EPC and the OECD.
PAPINI Andrea set the scene in the working group on “DIA in practice (modelling, access to and use of data)” and LEVENTI Chrysa participated in the working group on “Evidence-driven design of benefits (examples of DIA for tax-benefit reforms)”. EUROMOD was widely mentioned and promoted as the reference model for assessing the distributional effects of tax and benefit policies. Participants from Member States in which DIAs are still not performed showed a great interest in learning more about the model and participating in future EUROMOD trainings.
January 2024
EUROMOD training at the European Central Bank (31-01-2024)
PAPINI Andrea, PICOS Fidel and RICCI Mattia from JRC provided a 2-days EUROMOD training at the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarter in Frankfurt, to the analysts of the European System of Central Bank (ESCB) microsimulation network.
This training is a further step in our collaboration with the ECB and marks an important milestone in the effort to enhance the reach, adoption, and policy impact of EUROMOD. Importantly, this training is part of a broader Collaboration Agreement between JRC and the DG Statistics and the DG Economics of the European Central Bank (ECB). This collaboration agreement, soon to be signed, will promote the development of a version of EUROMOD running with the ECB-released data on Household Finance and Consumption (HFCS) and the adoption of EUROMOD among the ECB and national central bank analysts.
This collaboration agreement holds significant strategic importance. It will not only expand the capabilities of EUROMOD but also strengthen our ties with the ECB. The recent research paper "Inflation, Fiscal Policy and Inequality", which was the result of a research collaboration between JRC and ECB analysts, was even quoted by the ECB President in a recent speech and it stands as an example of how impactful the collaboration between researchers of our institutions can be.
We are confident that the continued collaboration between the JRC and the ECB will lead to further impactful research to inform policy making in the EU!
November 2023
Collaboration JRC and UNU-WIDER (29-11-2023)
Collaboration between the JRC and the UNU-WIDER The JRC has concluded an important Collaborative Research Arrangement with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) that will further extend the geographical reach of the EUROMOD Microsimulation maintained by JRC and UNU-WIDER’s flagship SOUTHMOD project aims to develop and promote tax-benefit microsimulation models in the Global South. Building on the successful EUROMOD platform, SOUTHMOD facilitates rigorous policy analysis and fosters evidence-based decision-making in the developing world.
This collaboration will focus on further expanding the understanding of taxes and social policies in developing countries, strengthening technical capabilities in microsimulation modelling and related software development. It will notably facilitate the fiscal and distributional assessment of policy reforms in order to help governments design policies that reduce poverty, inequality, and ensure sustainable economic growth.
Spanish newspapers on “Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality” (22-11-2023)
Top Spanish newspapers (now El Mundo again) continue referring to the results of the joint JRC-ECB study on “Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality”.
Speech about Distributional Impact Assessment (DIAs) at the European Social Forum (22-11-2023)
BARRIOS Salvador spoke about the role of Distributional Impact Assessment (DIAs) at the European Social Forum that took place on the 16-17/11 in Brussels. Given that the Twin transition is expected to have a profound impact on the way our economy and society function, it is paramount to consider its distributional dimension upfront, leaving “no one behind” President Von Der Leyen own words.
In the coming years Member States will adopt reforms in order to meet ambitious environmental targets. These policies could potentially have significant distributive impacts and affect more particularly those at the lower end of the income distribution. The JRC, together with DG EMPL and DG REFORM, is actively promoting the use of DIAs in order for the Member States to systematically address these concerns.
The EUROMOD model maintained by the Joint Research Centre plays a key role in this context, given that it provides a common platform for carrying out DIAs and promoting the dialogue between the Commission and the Member States in the area of tax (including green) and social reforms.
Spanish newspapers on “Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality” (08-11-2023)
Top Spanish newspapers (now El País and El Mundo) continue referring to the results of the joint JRC-ECB study on “Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality” recently published as ECB Occasional Paper co-authored by colleagues AMORES Antonio F , DE AGOSTINI Paola, Silvia [dot] DE-POLI
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DE POLI Silvia ), MAIER Sofía and RICCI Mattia. The study focuses on the effect of inflation on households’ welfare and on the role of policies to cushion its impact in selected Euro countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal).
EDGE-M3 pension model presentation at the US National Tax Association in Denver (01-11-2023)
The EDGE-M3 pension model was presented by colleague FERNÁNDEZ BASTIDAS Rocío, at the 116th Annual Conference of the National Tax Association in Denver, November 2-4. She presented “Heterogeneous Effects of Pension Reforms in the EU: A General Equilibrium Perspective” as part of a session on Pension Policy in Lifecycle Models, which featured academics from various US universities and the Joint Committee on Taxation of the US Congress.
October 2023
Report on Public Finances in EMU 2022 (25-10-2023)
The Report on Public Finances in EMU 2022, one of the flagship publications of DG ECFIN, was published this week.
JRC colleagues LEVENTI Chrysa and MAZZON Alberto used EUROMOD to illustrate the short-term budgetary impact of the inflation shock seen in 2022 across EU countries, in a situation in which this shock translates into wage increases.
EUROMOD can be used to account for fiscal drag and benefit erosion, two key channels via which inflation can affect budgetary outcomes. Simulation results point at a favorable and differentiated impact on the budget balance, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 percent of GDP across EU countries.
Publication on Tackle energy poverty (25-10-2023)
The Commission published recommendations to tackle energy poverty across the EU.
JRC colleagues MAIER Sofía, DREONI Ilda and AMORES Antonio F. contributed to the Staff Working Document by analysing under the AMEDI+ administrative agreement with DG EMPL, the overlapping of Energy Poverty indicators and the profiles of households identified by each of them.
EUROMOD training course (18-10-2023)
A three-day EUROMOD training course took place this week at JRC-Seville.
The course was taught by JRC colleagues DREONI Ilda, LEVENTI Chrysa, PAPINI Andrea, PICOS Fidel and SERRUYS Hannes.
The 22 participants who attended the course originated from a variety of institutions including universities, research centres, ministries, European and international organisations, and involved academics, policy makers, data experts and other interested users. Time was allocated to lectures, live demonstrations of the model and hands-on exercises.
The ultimate goal of the course is to create a new generation of users of EUROMOD, a model that enables timely, relevant and evidence-based policy analysis. to help governments design policies that reduce poverty, inequality, and ensure sustainable economic growth.
Spanish media on JRC study "Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality" (18-10-2023)
Spanish media are referring to the results of a joint JRC-ECB study on “Inflation, fiscal policy and inequality” recently published as ECB Occasional Paper co-authored by JRC colleagues AMORES Antonio F., DE AGOSTINI Paola, DE POLI Silvia, MAIER Sofia and RICCI Mattia.
Mention on Conference in ECB (04-10-2023)
Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, made reference to the results of a joint JRC-ECB study on inflation during a speech given at joint IEA-ECB-EIB High-Level International Conference entitled "Ensuring an orderly energy transition: Europe's competitiveness and financial stability in a period of global energy transformation" that took place in Paris on the 29/09.
This work will soon be published as ECB Occasional Paper co-authored by JRC colleagues AMORES Antonio F., DE AGOSTINI Paola, DE POLI Silvia, MAIER Sofia and RICCI Mattia.
The study focuses on the effect of inflation on households welfare and on the role of policies to cushion its impact in selected Euro countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal).
September 2023
EUROMOD Annual Meeting and Research Workshop (22-09-2023)
The EUROMOD Annual Meeting and Research Workshop took place on 20-22 September in JRC-Seville. The event, organised by JRC, brought together EUROMOD practitioners from all over the EU, who discussed about the future of the model and the state-of-the-art research performed with it.
Ongoing collaboration with European Central Bank (ECB) (09-2023)
The ECB and JRC are currently preparing a collaboration agreement in order to foster the use of EUROMOD using the Households Finance and Consumption Survey collected by the ECB, the national central banks of the Eurosystem and a number of national statistical institutes. The ECB and national central banks have expressed strong interest in developing the use of EUROMOD using this data. The ECB and JRC have also recently collaborated on a joint study in order to assess the impact of anti-inflationary measures, to be published soon by the ECB. (including green) and social reforms.
Presentation at ECB (20-09-2023)
BARRIOS Salvador presented JRC activities on costing of fiscal reforms using the EUROMOD model at the 4th Joint Workshop of European Independent Fiscal Institutions and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The workshop, entitled “European fiscal policy and governance reform in uncertain times”, was organised at the European Central Bank premises in Frankfurt. Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive ECB´s Board, made the introductory speech of this event.
