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Add blog post about PolicyEngine-NBER MOU for TAXSIM emulator development - #2746
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…ment Fixes #2745 Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Pull Request Overview
This PR adds a blog post announcing the memorandum of understanding between PolicyEngine and NBER for developing an open-source TAXSIM emulator. The post details the collaboration framework, development approach, and transition planning to ensure continuity of tax microsimulation capabilities for the research community.
- Adds new blog post entry to the posts.json configuration
- Creates comprehensive blog post content explaining the PolicyEngine-NBER partnership
- Documents the technical collaboration and validation framework for TAXSIM emulator development
Reviewed Changes
Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src/posts/posts.json | Adds new blog post entry with metadata for the NBER MOU announcement |
| src/posts/articles/policyengine-nber-mou-taxsim-emulator.md | Creates the full blog post content detailing the partnership and development framework |
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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Add PolicyEngine-NBER cover image - Remove 'emulator' from filename slug for consistency - Update posts.json with new filenames
- Add links to MOU document, NBER.org, TAXSIM, and Feenberg/Coutts paper - Add citation count (900+ on Google Scholar) and government usage information - Update Feenberg's title to IT Director at NBER - Remove formal Communications and Transparency section - Remove MOU termination clause details for general audience - Make content more suitable for blog format
- Change to first-person 'we' since authored by Max and Pavel - Update text to 'We are working with Daniel Feenberg and James Poterba' - Add 'CEO' to Poterba's title for clarity - Make language more direct and personal throughout
- Complete rewrite with more conversational, company blog tone - Use active voice throughout - Add engaging opening and stronger conclusion with call to action - Organize content around impact and benefits for researchers - Remove overly formal sections and language - Add bullet points for clarity and readability - Emphasize the value proposition more clearly
- Add paragraph about identifying improvements to both TAXSIM and PolicyEngine - Emphasize federal and state-level tax law accuracy improvements - Fix markdown list formatting for linting compliance
- Correct citation count to 1,200+ from Google Scholar - Add mention of 3+ years of validation work against TAXSIM - Fix markdown linting issues with list formatting and blank lines
- Link directly to Google Scholar citations page - Clarify that citations are for papers applying TAXSIM - Reference the Feenberg and Coutts (1993) paper more precisely
- Remove mentions of 'enhancing' TAXSIM (we're building an emulator, not enhancing TAXSIM) - Remove speculative dashboard feature that isn't built - Clarify that the emulator uses PolicyEngine's existing tax models - Focus on actual deliverables: compatibility, open-source, validation
- Add back the dashboard for comparing tax scenarios - Dashboard is actually being built as part of the project
- PolicyEngine models cover 2021 onward, not historical years - System will integrate TAXSIM (historical) with PolicyEngine emulator (2021+) - Users get unified interface with backend routing based on year - Researchers experience no disruption while gaining open-source benefits
- Remove unverified claims about CBO and JCT using TAXSIM - Add verified BLS usage with citation to their 2015 article - Add Census Bureau evaluation for Supplemental Poverty Measure - Include direct links to government sources for verification
- Specify TAXSIM35 as current version with 35 input variables - Detail outputs beyond tax liability (taxable income, credits, payroll taxes) - Correct time coverage: federal 1960-present, state 1977-present - Add think tank usage with Brookings citation (Sabelhaus et al.) - Note that TAXSIM is not currently open source (important context)
PavelMakarchuk
approved these changes
Sep 5, 2025
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Summary
Fixes #2745
Co-Authored-By: Claude noreply@anthropic.com