APPSIM - Modelling Family Formation and Dissolution

Abstract

Family formation and dissolution is a complex and (due to the mate matching process) a computationally time consuming modelling exercise. The focus of this paper is to provide an overview of the issues involved and to suggest ways of capturing the strong dynamics and interactions of the family formation process. This paper reviews international approaches to modelling family formation and dissolution, outlines the proposed order of the relevant processes in APPSIM, discusses the proposed ‘marriage market’, and examines how family formation can be modelled in APPSIM using linked microsimulation and macrosimulation models.