[DMP 2024]: Unified `policyengine` Python package

MaxGhenis commented 3 months ago

Description

We are looking to develop a Python package called policyengine that will serve as a unified interface for our country-specific policy simulation packages (e.g., policyengine_us, policyengine_uk). This package will provide a consistent API for users to perform policy simulations, conduct analyses, and generate visualizations across different countries. The package will include two main simulation classes: Microsimulation for running simulations on microdata and IndividualSim for calculating outcomes for a single household. Additionally, the package will offer analytics and charting functionality to facilitate cross-country comparisons and visualizations. A key feature of the package will be the ability to reproduce charts and visualizations from the PolicyEngine web interface, enabling users to generate insightful visual representations of simulation results programmatically.

Goals

Design a modular and extensible architecture for the policyengine package.
Implement the Microsimulation and IndividualSim classes for policy simulations.
Develop analytics and charting modules for cross-country analyses and visualizations.
Enable users to reproduce charts from the PolicyEngine web interface, including:
- Budgetary breakdowns
- Charts by income decile
- Poverty breakdowns by demographic groups
- Income inequality impacts for microsimulations
- Net income, marginal tax rates, and other variables with respect to earnings for individual households (under baseline and reform law)
- Evolution of policy parameters' values
Utilize Plotly for interactive and visually appealing charts.
Provide a user-friendly API for configuring and running simulations, including setting default countries.
Create comprehensive documentation, including tutorials and examples, to guide users in using the package effectively.
Goals Achieved By Mid-point Milestone: Completion of the core architecture, implementation of the Microsimulation and IndividualSim classes, and basic charting functionality.

Setup/Installation

The policyengine package will be hosted on GitHub and can be installed via pip:

pip install policyengine

Detailed installation instructions and dependencies will be provided in the package's README file.

Expected Outcome

The final product will be a well-documented and user-friendly Python package that enables users to perform policy simulations, conduct analyses, and generate visualizations across different countries. The package will provide a consistent interface for users to interact with our country-specific policy simulation packages, streamlining the process of cross-country comparisons and policy evaluation. Users will be able to reproduce a wide range of charts and visualizations from the PolicyEngine web interface programmatically, facilitating in-depth analysis and customization of visual representations.

Acceptance Criteria

The policyengine package is available on GitHub and can be installed via pip.
The package provides the Microsimulation and IndividualSim classes for policy simulations.
Users can easily configure and run simulations, including setting default countries.
The package includes analytics and charting modules for cross-country analyses and visualizations.
Users can reproduce charts from the PolicyEngine web interface, including budgetary breakdowns, charts by income decile, poverty breakdowns by demographic groups, income inequality impacts for microsimulations, net income and marginal tax rates for individual households, and evolution of policy parameters' values.
Plotly is used for creating interactive and visually appealing charts.
Comprehensive documentation, including tutorials and examples, is available to guide users in using the package effectively.

Implementation Details

The policyengine package will be developed in Python, leveraging existing country-specific packages (e.g., policyengine_us, policyengine_uk).
The package will follow a modular architecture, with separate modules for simulations, analytics, charting, and configuration.
The Microsimulation and IndividualSim classes will be implemented to provide a consistent interface for policy simulations across different countries.
The package will utilize Plotly for creating interactive and customizable charts and visualizations.
Chart reproduction functionality will be implemented to enable users to generate charts similar to those in the PolicyEngine web interface.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices will be followed to ensure code quality and automated testing.

Mockups/Wireframes

(Mockups and wireframes will be linked here when ready.)

Product Name

PolicyEngine

Organisation Name

PolicyEngine

Domain

Policy Simulation
Economic Modeling
Data Analysis
Data Visualization

Tech Skills Needed

Python
Data Analysis (pandas)
Data Visualization (Plotly)
Package Development
Documentation
Testing
CI/CD

Mentor(s)

@nikhilwoodruff, co-founder and CTO @anth-volk, software engineer and developer community manager

Related Issues

Development of R and Stata wrappers for the policyengine package.
Exploration of compiling the package to WebAssembly for improved performance in web-based applications.

masterismail commented 2 months ago

Hey @MaxGhenis! I'm super interested in this project! I've been building APIs and AI models for a while now, and this sounds like a great fit.

Is there a recommended way to chat with the mentors? I'd love to discuss how I can jump in and help out with this policyengine package.

Thanks!

MadhukeshSingh commented 2 months ago

Hi there, @MaxGhenis , I'm passionate about machine learning, building APIs, and I'm eager to join this project.

Here's a bit about myself: I am Madhukesh Singh, currently studying at the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, in my third year.

My experience includes working on image processing, computer vision, and object detection in satellite imagery during my internship as an AI developer at DRDO DYSL.AI.

Is there a preferred method for communicating with the mentors? how I can contribute.

Sayanjones commented 2 months ago

Hey @MaxGhenis I'm interested in contributing to the policyengine Python package! My skills in Python (pandas, Plotly), package development, and testing align well with your project.

I'm eager to help with chart reproduction functionality, data analysis/charting modules, or other general development tasks.

I've reviewed your goals and feel I can make valuable contributions. Please let me know how to get started!

Arshad-Ali-1a commented 2 months ago

I would love to work on this. Will get started with some "good first" issues initially.

rajat-malvi commented 2 months ago

Hello @MaxGhenis, I'm a beginner in the field currently exploring data analysis. I am a student who recently created a news scraping website. I used Python's regular expression module to clean the data before storing it in a PostgreSQL database. I'm eager to delve deeper into data analysis.

AbhimanyuSamagra commented 2 months ago

Do not ask process related questions about how to apply and who to contact in the above ticket. The only questions allowed are about technical aspects of the project itself. If you want help with the process, you can refer instructions listed on Unstop and any further queries can be taken up on our Discord channel titled DMP queries. Here's a Video Tutorial on how to submit a proposal for a project.

Tushar3021 commented 1 month ago

I came across your Government Policy Simulation project and I'm interested in contributing. I have experience in Python, data analysis, and visualization.

Sarcastic-Ajeet commented 1 month ago

Hello @nikhilwoodruff @MaxGhenis, I'm beginner for these type of project. Please let me know I could contribute. I have good knowledge of python, data analysis, data visualization.

MaxGhenis commented 1 month ago

@Tushar3021 and @Sarcastic-Ajeet please see https://github.com/PolicyEngine/policyengine.py/issues/1#issuecomment-2072008367

nsadana60 commented 1 month ago

Hello @nikhilwoodruff @MaxGhenis, I'm sadana .i'm eager to contribute to this project(Government Policy Simulation project ) and to learn new skills .

MaxGhenis commented 1 month ago

Do not comment to express interest

shivam963singh commented 1 month ago

I came across your Government Policy Simulation project and I'm interested in contributing. I have experience in Python, data analysis, and visualization.

anth-volk commented 1 month ago

Please do not comment to express interest.

KURAPATIHARIKA commented 1 month ago

Helloo @MaxGhenis ,I'm a beginner for this kind of projects . I'm a student who is good at python, data analysis ...even completed my internship related to data science in sparks foundation...i'm eager to contribute my skills at this project and ready to explore new things...

anth-volk commented 1 month ago

Please do not comment to express interest.

PolicyEngine / policyengine.py