The Policy Simulation Model (PSM) is a static microsimulation

Microsimulation

-Introduction:Microsimulation is a category of computerized analytical tools that perform highly detailed analysis of activities such as highway traffic flowing through an intersection, financial transactions, or pathogens spreading disease through a population...

 model which encapsulates the tax and benefits system, and population, of Great Britain. It is based on survey data from the FRS

Family Resources Survey

The Family Resources Survey is a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the National Centre for Social Research on an annual basis, collecting information on the incomes and circumstances of private households in Great Britain...

, which is uprated to simulate the current year, together with a few years into the future.

The model is built using SAS

SAS System

SAS is an integrated system of software products provided by SAS Institute Inc. that enables programmers to perform:* retrieval, management, and mining* report writing and graphics* statistical analysis...

 and is owned by the GB Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...

. It is used for poverty and scenario analysis and produces outputs including the financial impacts on different demographic groups from hypothetical policy changes to the tax and benefits system.