Who is MMC?

Micromacro Consultants (MMC) is an institute for macro economic and micro (poverty) model construction, training and research.  It carried out projects in four different continents. In co-operation with local counterparts MMC has developed Macroabc models among others in Indonesia (Ministry of Finance, donor World Bank), Kenya (donor EU), Ethiopia (Min Finance and Development, donor UNDP), Curacao (Economic Affairs of the Island), Poland (Min Fin., donor EU) and Aruba (Economic Affairs of the Island), Macedonia (Ministry of Finance, donor USAID), Namibia, Ukraine (Ministry of Economy, donor World Bank), Zambia (Ministry of Finance and National Planning, donor World Bank and GIZ), Rwanda (MINECOFIN, donor World Bank). Macroabc models for several countries and the poverty modules are available as shareware by clicking here.

MMC started in 1994 and is headquartered in The Hague. MMC employs a small staff of full time economists and a group of some twenty very experienced short-term specialists. Most of them were (some still are) employed by the Dutch Central Planning Bureau. MMC involves also local consultants. Furthermore MMC started to invite also some of the best of its counterparts to work as short term MMC consultant in projects in other countries. MMC also carries out research projects in the Netherlands.

International projects

MMC has developed an efficient mix of co‑operation and training for macro model projects:

• The Subject is practical training in macro-economic modeling and (fiscal) policy analysis.
• The Vision is to do the work in co-operation with economists in the country that will use the model. The sustainability of a model is ensured if there are sufficient people who know how to update and work with the model and if this knowledge is passed on to newcomers. Using MMC’s method the local counterparts are involved in the (re)building of the macro models right from the start of the project. Consequently they will understand the working of the model and generally master it when the model is finished.
• The Approach that is adopted by MMC was labeled the telework-formula. This approach provides efficient co-operation between counterparts and consultants, in three ways: short visits of one or two MMC consultants to the country, counterparts visit for two weeks MMC’s office in The Hague (many specialized consultants give workshops), co-operation by telework in between visits. E-mail is used intensively during these periods to discuss progress and to exchange results. MMC does not employ the old fashioned and costly approach of a long term expatriate Technical Assistants, but uses its consultants in short visits, telework and workshops, and tries to involve the local economists as much as possible from the very beginning.
• The Methodology used by MMC is Macroabc, a way of econometric model building developed by MMC, based on the practical experience in several countries. Macroabc is a collection of ideas, Excel files, text files and multi media slide shows that can help with the construction of macro models in other countries. Micromacrosim is an independent auxiliary that helps to translate macro economic developments to a micro (poverty) level.
• The Output of the projects is not only the model, but more specific the increased knowledge of the counterparts in macro-economic modeling.

MMC carried/carries out successfully technical assistance projects in:

• Curaçao (in the Caribbean), beneficiary& financer: Dep. Economic Affairs Curaçao
• Rwanda (MINECOFIN, donor World Bank)
• Zambia (Ministry of Finance and National Planning, donor World Bank and GIZ)
• Ukraine (Ministry of Economy, donor World Bank),
• Namibia (no donor, test & demo version financed by MMC)
• Aruba, Department Economic Affairs 
• Indonesia, beneficiary: Ministry of Finance, donor: World Bank  
• Ethiopia, beneficiary: Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, donor: UNDP
• Kenya, beneficiary: Ministry of Finance, donor: EU
• Netherlands Antilles : Baseline study Economic Development. Ministry Economic Affairs Antilles, financer: Netherlands 
• Macedonia, beneficiary: Ministry of Finance, donor: USAID  
• Poland, beneficiary: Ministry of Finance, donor EU

Activities in the Netherlands
MMC carries out or has carried out projects in The Netherlands for different ministries (the ministries of Housing, Health, Economic Affairs, Finance, Internal Affairs, and Education) and the private sector. Examples: MMC analyzed the housing market using a micro database; it analyzed the different components of wage development, including wage drift, using micro data-bases; it made an instrument to anticipate inflation and GDP forecasts; another example is the construction of a computer program to calculate the total wage bill and real net income growth for individuals in the education sector.

The start of MMC.
Dr. Marein van Schaaijk, the founder and director of MMC, has 38 years of experience of working with macro and micro data and models. Of these 38 years he worked 18 years in different research and management positions within the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) of the Netherlands.  
Dr. van Schaaijk left the CPB in 1994 and founded MMC. MMC's successful activities in the seventien years of its operation until now confirms that there exists a sizeable demand for the services offered by MMC. And after some years MMC was also able to blend it’s experiences in four continents in new projects. One of the strengths of MMC is its very flexible organizational set‑up. It has a small fixed staff (two full time economists, one part time secretary and one part time director for human resources and marketing with a Masters in Management) augmented by a large network of specialists. These short-term experts form the center of MMC. So far, MMC has already employed more then thirty different senior economists in this way, working as MMC consultant for periods from a one morning workshop up to seven weeks a year, and some even for several months a year. Most of these short-term advisers have at least fifteen years of experience and most of them work for or have worked for the Central Planning Bureau of the Netherlands, and MMC recently started to invite some of the best of its counterparts in projects in other countries. The idea of MMC is to provide next years a combination of European, African, Asian and South-American MMC experts that give more countries access to MMC’s intercontinental modeling expertise.

More information:                                                             
Click here for more information concerning MMC projects outside of the Netherlands, or click here to view MMC's projects in the Netherlands (only in Dutch).

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