WAP experts draw from a variety of approaches in economics, psychology, social policy and well-being studies. Concrete examples of operational tools are as follows
Tools
Tax-benefit microsimulation models
Tax-benefit microsimulation models that are implemented for Europe and different parts of the world and used by WAP experts for redistributive or behavioral analyses. Ongoing work involves models maintained by partners at the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis of Essex University and the research center of the United Nations UNU-WIDER.
Quantitative approaches
WAP experts also use statistical approaches to assess the impact of public policies on welfare, inequality or behavior (consumption, labor market choices, political attitudes, health decisions, etc.), including structural econometrics, experimental approaches (lab experiments, randomized controlled experiments and “natural”).