SOUTHMOD resources

As noted on the page, "UNU-WIDER currently hosts fourteen models: eight models for countries in Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia), four in Latin America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru), one in Southeast Asia (Viet Nam), and one for the island of Zanzibar, complementing models developed previously for South Africa and Namibia. The models are continuously updated and used for research and policy analysis by UNU-WIDER and partners. The project is based on joint work with the Southern African Social Policy Research Insights (SASPRI), the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and national teams based in the countries for which the models are built."

Follow the steps in the link to request access to the SOUTHMOD bundle and input datasets for the models of interest.

This open-access course is ideal for anyone new to the field of microsimulation or those seeking to refresh their knowledge, catering specifically to users of the SOUTHMOD model family, which includes models for countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The course structure includes 10 comprehensive modules featuring video lectures, multiple-choice questions, and practical modeling exercises. Participants who complete all modules and exercises will receive a SOUTHMOD Training Certificate. To participate effectively, you will need to download and use the latest version of the EUROMOD software, freely available online, and DEVMOD—a training model that uses fully synthetic data but resembles existing SOUTHMOD models.

A free Claude Code skill that makes Claude a SOUTHMOD and EUROMOD assistant. It reads the files of your own model (the model XML, configuration, input and output data, DRD and country report) and explains how the model works, with references to the exact files and lines. It works for all 14 SOUTHMOD models and the DEVMOD training model.

What you can ask. What a policy does in a given year, how a variable is built, or where a parameter is set. It can also compute poverty and inequality from an output file, help you run a model or set up a reform. When a file is missing, it says so rather than guessing.

How to use it. Unzip the skill into your Claude Code skills folder (unzip southmod-skill.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/). Then start Claude Code in a folder with your model and ask a question. The skill does not include any model or data: request the SOUTHMOD models from UNU-WIDER and EUROMOD from the JRC.

A companion skill that carries out the annual policy update of a SOUTHMOD model. Starting from the previous release, it produces a new model version with the new policy year, and uses the SOUTHMOD skill above, which you should install alongside it.

What it does. It researches the year's tax and benefit changes from official sources, edits the model, and checks the results after each EUROMOD run. It also updates the country report in Word tracked changes, the input data and DRDs, and the change log, and drafts the workbooks and email for the national team.

How to use it. Unzip it next to the SOUTHMOD skill (unzip southmod-policy-update-skill.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/). Then give Claude your files and ask, for example: "Update ZANMOD to 2026. I have the bundle, the country report, the DRDs and the data preparation do-files." You run EUROMOD when asked, and you send the emails yourself.

A user manual for the harmonized SOUTHMOD model bundle, covering country models for Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Mainland Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zanzibar), Latin America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), and Southeast Asia (Viet Nam). It works both as an introduction for new users and a reference for experienced ones, covering how to run the country models and how to build new policies. To get started, request access to the bundle and the relevant input data, and download the latest EUROMOD software. The matching Country Reports and Data Requirement Documents are also worth reading.

The SOUTHMOD modeling conventions, based on the EUROMOD conventions and adapted for developing-country settings through the work of UNU-WIDER, ISER, SASPRI, and national teams. They guide how to build a model and keep it up to date, and standardize data and modeling choices across the countries in the project. The document is shared publicly for researchers building their own models on the free EUROMOD/SOUTHMOD software. Careful, systematic checking of the input data and all model elements is essential, and it remains the user's responsibility to judge how comparable the models are for a given research question. The relevant Country Report and Data Requirement Document are worth reading, and UNU-WIDER can provide the Stata do-files behind the data on request.

Find links to selected SOUTHMOD works I've co-authored below: