Mr Jhon Louie B Sabal (Chairperson of the Xavier University Department of Economics) has completed a course on the Core Overlapping Generations Macroeconomy Model (OG-CORE) from the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
OG-CORE is an advanced quantitative tool designed to assist governments in conducting rigorous scenario analyses for economic policy. This model is particularly effective for examining taxation and spending policies, social protection and pension systems, transfers, savings behavior, and the impact of demographic changes.
This framework uses Python as statistical software to analyze the macroeconomic impacts of certain issues.
The course took three (3) months to complete. The first onsite session was conducted on 12 to 13 August 2024 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas. This is followed by a series of online modules that are accessible through the GitHub repository.
The final onsite session happened from 21 to 25 October 2024 at Ibis Styles and Novotel Hotels in Quezon City.
This training is originally intended for the faculty members of the UP School of Economics, the Ateneo de Manila University, and economists from the Departments of Finance and Budget and Management, House of Representatives, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The program, however, was generously extended for free to four economists outside Metro Manila, including representatives from Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, Ateneo de Davao University, the University of San Carlos, and UP Visayas.
Mr Sabal’s participation, alongside these other regional experts, underscores the commitment to strengthening policy analysis capacity in regions across the Philippines.
Present during the entire duration of the training are representatives from UNDESA led by Dr Marcelo T LaFeur (Senior Economist of UNDESA), Dr Richard W Evans (Director of Open-Source Economics Laboratory), and Dr Jason DeBacker (Associate Professor of the School of Business of the University of South Carolina). Dr Evans and Dr DeBacker are Consultants of UNDESA.