During the past three years NATSEM has developed path-breaking spatial microsimulation techniques, involving the creation of synthetic data about the socioeconomic characteristics of households at a detailed regional level. The data are potentially available at any level of geographic aggregation, down to the level of the Census Collection District (about 200 households).

In Social Modelling and Public Policy: What is microsimulation modelling and how is it being used? Laurie Brown and Ann Harding provide an overview of social modelling, and in particular a general introduction to and insight into the potential role and usefulness of microsimulation in analysing public policy.

Characteristics of NSW Hospital Users in 1998-99 reports on unique evidence from a combined dataset regarding the socioeconomic, demographic, distributional, health and spatial characteristics of those NSW residents who used NSW private or public hospital services in 1998-99. Questions addressed in the paper include: who benefited most and least that year from government funding to...

The growing differences in the resources available to older Australians raises many questions for policy makers, as they grapple with the issues associated with population ageing and how to finance the future health and care needs of the ageing baby boomers. In this paper Ann Harding, Anthony King and Simon Kelly review the trends.

Simon Kelly, Ann Harding and Richard Percival use microsimulation to make projections of the superannuation assets of people entering retirement over the next 40 years. They consider the impact of a change in superannuation policy -- namely, a higher level of compulsory contribution -- from both the individual and government perspective.