The Analysis of Personal Taxation and Social Security.

This article describes research on the analysis of the consequences of changes in personal taxation and social security carried out as part of the SSRC Programme on Taxation, Incentives and the Distribution of Income. It shows how data from the Family Expenditure Survey can be used to see who gains and who loses from policy changes, illustrating this by an examination of proposals for a tax credit scheme. It discusses the incorporation of changes in behaviour, and the effect of taxes and benefits on incentives, including the 'poverty trap'. Particular emphasis is placed on the accessibility of the analysis, and the last section describes a range of programs which are available for use on micro-computers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]