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Jesse Lastunen

Jesse Lastunen

Hi there! I'm a research associate at UNU-WIDER, focusing on tax-benefit microsimulation modeling and its use to study social protection, taxation, and the distributional effects of policy reforms. As part of the SOUTHMOD project, I coordinate the research and technical assistance activities in Vietnam, Rwanda and Uganda. This includes collaborative, often policy-driven research and organizing training events for local government officials and researchers. Find SOUTHMOD resources on the SOUTHMOD page. Enroll in the SOUTHMOD online course from here.

Before WIDER, I worked for organizations such as OECD, RAND Corporation, Internet Association, Technopolis Group, and CERN. A big chunk of this work involved research on the intersection of technological change and the labor market. I'm particularly interested in the applications of generative artificial intelligence in research (see AI for Economists) and chair the AI working group at WIDER, along with a general focus on data, analytics, and AI. Explore my research here.

I received my PhD in policy analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy, with analytical concentrations in economics and quantitative methods. Before that, I studied public policy (UChicago), international economics (BSE), technology policy (Cambridge) and engineering and management (Masdar Institute and Tampere University).

Discover more about my work through the links below, or get in touch: lastunen(at)wider.unu.edu

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Recent research

With: H. Xavier Jara, Katrin Gasior, Pia Rattenhuber
EUROMOD: 30 Years of the EU Tax-Benefit Microsimulation Model, Springer Cham, 2026
This chapter examines the experience of building and using tax-benefit microsimulation models for countries in the Global South in EUROMOD. The study focuses mainly on three key initiatives: the pioneering SAMOD model, the SOUTHMOD project, and EUROMOD-based models for Latin America. The chapter provides an overview of these initiatives and highlights the importance of taking the developing country context into account in the simulations. Research based on the models has made key contributions to the field of public finance and social policy in the Global South. A number of challenges remain for the update and use of microsimulation models in the Global South. Yet, these tools offer opportunities for new avenues of research and to contribute with evidence to the policy debate in view of strengthening social protection and increasing fiscal capacity.
A longer and more comprehensive version is available as a working paper: 'The Emergence of Tax-benefit Microsimulation Models in the Global South', WIDER Working Paper 2026/80. https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2026/748-0
Jara, H.X., Gasior, K., Lastunen, J. & Rattenhuber, P. Tax-Benefit Microsimulation in the Global South: The Experience of SAMOD, SOUTHMOD, and EUROMOD-Based Models for Latin America (in 'EUROMOD: 30 Years of the EU Tax-Benefit Microsimulation Model', edited by Figari, F. & Sutherland, H.), Contributions to Economics. Springer Cham, 2026, pp. 431-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-31414-7_25
With: Rodrigo Chang
UNU-WIDER Working Paper Series, 2026 (forthcoming)
A forthcoming WIDER working paper examining how to account for informal consumption when modelling value-added tax (VAT) in SOUTHMOD tax-benefit microsimulation models, with applications to Rwanda, Peru, Mozambique, and Uganda.
Chang, R. & Lastunen, J. Informal Consumption in the Microsimulation of VAT: Application to Rwanda, Peru, Mozambique, and Uganda, WIDER Working Paper, Helsinki: UNU-WIDER, 2026 (forthcoming).
With: Christian Shema Rwagasana
UNU-WIDER Report, 2026
This report documents RWAMOD, the SOUTHMOD model developed for Rwanda. This work was carried out by UNU-WIDER, SASPRI, and the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). The results presented in this report are derived using RWAMOD version 2.0, which is part of the SOUTHMOD bundle (SOUTHMOD_A4.0) and runs on EUROMOD software. The report describes the different tax-benefit policies in place, how the microsimulation model picks up these different provisions, and the database on which the model runs. It concludes with a validation of results against external data sources for Rwanda.
Rwagasana, C.S. & Lastunen, J. SOUTHMOD Country Report Rwanda: RWAMOD v2.0, Helsinki: UNU-WIDER, 2026.
With: Tina Kaidu Barugahara, Joseph Okello Ayo, Katrin Gasior, Nicholas Musoke
UNU-WIDER Report, 2026
This report documents UGAMOD, the SOUTHMOD model developed for Uganda. This work was carried out by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) in collaboration with the project partners. The results presented in this report are derived using UGAMOD version 3.0, which is part of the SOUTHMOD bundle (SOUTHMOD_A4.0) and runs on EUROMOD software. The report describes the different tax-benefit policies in place, how the microsimulation model picks up these different provisions, and the database on which the model runs. It concludes with a validation of results against external data sources for Uganda.
Barugahara, T.K., Okello Ayo, J., Lastunen, J., Gasior, K. & Musoke, N. SOUTHMOD Country Report Uganda: UGAMOD v3.0, Helsinki: UNU-WIDER, 2026.

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