Jan van Heerden of the University of Pretoria has developed several variants of his
UPGEM CGE model of South Africa. Environmental concerns, such as energy or water shortage, are a special focus. As well as
using GEMPACK in regular teaching, Jan has conducted several training courses based around UPGEM. He has also used CGE modelling in several
commercial consultancies, including a study of the effects of expanding the higher education sector.
Joaquim Bento de Souza Ferreira Filho of the ESALQ
campus of the Universidade de São Paulo has developed several CGE models of Brazil,
emphasizing regional and distributional concerns. He has designed
post-graduate courses in CGE model-building, and has co-ordinated the translation of various resources into Portuguese.
Professor Armida Alisjahbana and her team at the Center for Economics and Development Studies at Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, West Java, are developing the
INDOTERM CGE model of the Indonesian and West Java economies to study the national and regional (West Java) impacts of national and regional
economic policies. Their simulations show the effects of: allowing rice imports; growing bio-diesel fuel; and changes in commodity prices.
Maureen Rimmer pushes GEMPACK to the limit! She works
with Peter Dixon on the large USAGE model, which distinguishes 500 sectors, 50 states and 700 occupations. To perform
multi-period forecasts with so large a model is necessarily time-consuming -- efforts by GEMPACK developers to reduce her simulation times have
led to efficiency gains which benefit us all.
Kevin Hanslow has developed extraordinary technical skills
during many years of CGE modelling, at the Productivity Commission, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, the Centre for
International Economics. He has uncovered a number of subtle GEMPACK bugs, and suggested several improvements.
Dr. Chunto Tso,and his team (Ms. Chihwei Wang and Mr. Hau Ju) of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research are developing an energy-oriented CGE model of Taiwan.
The model, called Triple E, is based on the TAIGEM model and is currently being used to examine the potential impacts of fuel cell motors for
motor scooters.
Edson Domingues of the CEDEPLAR Regional Studies Centre in the Federal University of Minas Gerais uses a bottom-up regional CGE of
Brazil (with 27 states and 558 sub-regions) to model regional effects of government-funded infrastructure projects.
Professor Yunchang Jeffrey Bor of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (Taipei, Taiwan) is Vice President, International Association for
Energy Economics (IAEE) and a long-time CGE modeller, focussing particularly on energy-related problems.
Veteran GEMPACKer George Verikios has worked for 3 Australian
universities, for ABARE (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics), for the Australian Productivity Commission, and for
consultants Access Economics. Over the years George has suggested several improvements to GEMPACK programs -- some addressed to the special
problems caused by corporate IT policies.
Joseph Francois,
currently a professor at the Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, has worked in several universities, international organizations, and at the
US International Trade Commission. His research interests centre around international trade, but he also likes to play with computer-based
policy models. He is a long-time Mac user and has helped to adapt or explain GEMPACK for Mac users .
Professor Hannu Törmä of Ruralia Institute (Seinäjoki), University of Helsinki, and Dr. hab. Katarzyna
Zawalinska of the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of
Sciences cooperate to build the RegFin/RegPol family of regional CGE models for
Finland and Poland.
Alan K Fox worked through the 1990's with Deardorff and Stern on the Michigan World Trade Model; then moved in 2000 to the US International Trade Commission (USITC), where he contributes to various CGE modelling projects. In the last few
years he has published a number of papers about emissions trading.
For some years researchers at VATT (Finland's Government Institute for Economic Research) have been analysing policies with
national and world CGE models, culminating in VATTAGE: a dynamic model with rich detail on indirect and direct taxation, energy consumption, and
the dynamics of public sector expenditures. Pictured here are Jouko Kinnunen, Kimmo Marttila and team leader Juha Honkatukia.
The CGE team at Deloitte spans three continents. It includes some GEMPACK
old hands like Hom Pant and Daniel Pambudi through to eager young practitioners like Andre Chinnery and Sue Paul. The team handles a large
volume of modelling engagements for a wide range of private and public sector clients every year. Each is delivered with the trusted combination
of GEMPACK, RunDynam, Microsoft Excel and multiple hours explaining why you shouldn't use IO multipliers for impact analysis.
Economists Kyle Johnson and Marinos Tsigas of the
USITC Office of Economics have been using the USAGE-ITC CGE model
of the U.S. national and state economies to analyze USA trade relations.
A team in the Economic Forecasting Department of the State Information Center (SIC), Beijing has been building CGE models for some years. They have used their SICGE model to analyse energy price rises, rural urban labour flow, transport forecasting, and carbon taxes; and now plan to construct a Chinese Multi-regional model. They also use GEMPACK to: manipulate and balance input-output tables, disaggregate sectors, and compile a Chinese inter-provincial input-output table. Pictured are Professor Zhang Yaxiong (pale coat), and associate professors Zhao Kun, Zhang Peng, Yu Liu and Li Jifeng.
The economics facet in the Office of Economic and Statistical Research at Queensland Treasury has developed their own version of
the MMRF model, and have used CGE models to analyse a wide range of policy issues, including analysis for the Garnaut Climate Change Review.
They have also used GEMPACK to create their own Queensland input-output tables and to compile Multifactor Productivity estimates.
Yang Jun, of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy uses batch files to combine GEMPACK with other
software such as SAS and Excel VBA as he develops model platforms. He has developed a GEMPACK version of the Chinese Agricultural Projection
Simulation Model (CAPSiM), and successfully linked it to GTAP. Currently, his interests focus on dynamic and regional CGE modeling.
Philip Adams probably runs more GEMPACK simulations than anyone else. His
office is warmed by 3 multi-core PCs, producing results for a constant stream of policy-oriented analyses, mostly commissioned by Australian
State and Federal governments. He is pictured here doing field work on the net economic benefits of Victoria's hosting of the Formula 1 Grand
Prix.
CGE training courses, held
several times a year in various countries, teach how CGE models may be implemented and run using GEMPACK, and how simulation results arise from
imposed shocks, the closure and the model's equations and database.
Pioneers of CGE software: from right to
left, Alex Meeraus (GAMS), Ken Pearson (GEMPACK), Tom Rutherford (MPSGE) and Mark Horridge (GEMPACK), in Washington DC, May 2011.
GEMPACK in the Cloud: Dr. Hidayat Amir and Mr. Anda
Nugroho, of the Fiscal Policy Agency in the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, are developing a
web-based multiple-household CGE model to analyze the distributional impacts of fiscal
(taxation) policies. The GEMPACK model is run by by policy-makers through a web interface. This cloud computing approach aims to shield the
policy maker from computing details. CGE analysis becomes clearer, faster and easier to interpret, and can be performed anywhere with internet
access.
The team at Ruralia Institute, Finland has been building CGE models for many years, used mainly to analyze regional development policies. Pictured (left to right) are Jouko Kinnunen, Hannu Törmä, Urszula Zimoch, Susanna Kujala and Outi Hakala.
At the Office of Trade and Economic Analysis, Washington DC, Julian Richards and Chris Rasmussen (beard) use variants of the USAGE model to simulate, for example, how many jobs are attributable to Foreign Direct Investment into the USA.
Antti Simola is a very experienced GEMPACK
modeller; he has worked at the VATT in Helsinki, and works now at the EC Joint Research Centre in Seville. His interests are environmental,
natural resource and agricultural economics, and he also likes to explore obscure GEMPACK features that every-one else forgot about! In 2012 and
again in 2020 he received the Argenteola Award.
A group from Roma Tre University have used CGE models since 1996.
Valeria Costantini, Ilaria Fusacchia and Luca Salvatici are still based at Roma Tre, Alessandro Antimiani is with the EU Commission, Elena
Paglialunga works at the University of Urbino while Chiara Martini and Giorgia Sforna are with the ENEA. The group has developed several CGE
models for academic research and to assist national and international public agencies, sometimes in cooperation with Rossi-Doria Centre and
SEEDS. Models are used to analyse various issues, from climate change and optimal policy mix to international trade agreements and global value
chains.
Your picture here ? Let us know how you use GEMPACK, and if you would like to be featured on the GEMPACK
home page .
Your picture here ? Let us know how you use GEMPACK, and if you would like to be featured on the GEMPACK
home page .