04 — Policy Simulation Lab
If you ran the country, what would you change?
Adjust eight policy levers and watch four indicators of mobility, equality, opportunity, and wellbeing respond. This is an educational model — not a real prediction.
Educational simulation. The relationships below are simplified, drawn from cross-country research intuition (OECD, Chetty et al.). Real economies are far more complex. Use this to build intuition, not to make policy.
Policy Levers
Public investment in schools, teachers, and learning materials. Higher spending tends to improve equal access to quality education — a core driver of long-run mobility.
Public health spending per capita. Health shocks are a leading cause of downward mobility; universal coverage cushions families against them.
How steeply tax rates rise with income. More progressive systems redistribute from top to bottom, compressing the income distribution.
Targeted financial aid for low-income students. Reduces the income-graduation gap and widens the pipeline to higher education.
A wage floor for the lowest-paid workers. Raises bottom incomes but, set too high, may reduce low-skill employment in some models.
Subsidised housing and rental assistance. Housing affordability determines whether families can live in opportunity-rich neighbourhoods.
Job training, placement services, and wage subsidies. Helps displaced and young workers re-enter the labour market.
Subsidised childcare and pre-primary education. Early investment compounds over a lifetime and is among the highest-return mobility policies.
Social Mobility
How easily children can move up the income ladder relative to their parents.
45/100
Income Equality
How evenly national income is distributed across the population.
40/100
Equality of Opportunity
Whether a child’s starting point — not their talent — determines their outcomes.
42/100
Public Wellbeing
A composite of health, living standards, and access to essential services.
50/100
Before vs After
The economics behind the sliders
Why each lever moves mobility
A short, plain-language explanation of the mechanism behind every policy in the simulator.
Education Spending
Public investment in schools, teachers, and learning materials. Higher spending tends to improve equal access to quality education — a core driver of long-run mobility.
Healthcare Investment
Public health spending per capita. Health shocks are a leading cause of downward mobility; universal coverage cushions families against them.
Tax Progressivity
How steeply tax rates rise with income. More progressive systems redistribute from top to bottom, compressing the income distribution.
Need-based Scholarships
Targeted financial aid for low-income students. Reduces the income-graduation gap and widens the pipeline to higher education.
Minimum Wage
A wage floor for the lowest-paid workers. Raises bottom incomes but, set too high, may reduce low-skill employment in some models.
Housing Support
Subsidised housing and rental assistance. Housing affordability determines whether families can live in opportunity-rich neighbourhoods.
Active Employment Programs
Job training, placement services, and wage subsidies. Helps displaced and young workers re-enter the labour market.
Childcare & Early Years
Subsidised childcare and pre-primary education. Early investment compounds over a lifetime and is among the highest-return mobility policies.