What problem does it solve?
Building a robust, high-performance microsimulation engine capable of handling complex tax and benefit rules across multiple entities and time periods is a significant engineering challenge. PolicyEngine Core provides this foundational engine, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and performance for all calculations.
Core Features & Use Cases
- Simulation Engine: Processes tax rules, manages variables, parameters, and entity relationships (person, family, household, tax unit).
- Vectorized Operations: Designed for high performance by processing many households simultaneously.
- Automatic Dependency Resolution: Automatically resolves variable dependencies, ensuring calculations are performed in the correct order.
- Formula Caching: Caches calculation results to speed up repeated requests.
- Use Case: Understand how a country package (like
policyengine-us) defines a variable like income_tax, and how PolicyEngine Core automatically resolves its dependencies on adjusted_gross_income and standard_deduction.
Quick Start
Use the policyengine-core skill to understand how the Variable class is implemented in the core engine.
