Threshold 21

THRESHOLD 21 is a user-friendly PC computer-based national development model that assesses the long-term (50-100 years) impacts of alternative tax, subsidy and other relative-price factors on national development indicators. Social, economic, environmental, and security implications are analyzed endogenously. THRESHOLD 21 includes sectors for demography, health care, education, nutrition, goods, trade, agriculture, fuel resources, energy, pollution, military, technology, debt, national accounts and "rest of world." The sectors are dynamically linked through over 1000 equations.

MI seeks to build a critical mass of people and organizations with systems thinking skills, by promoting systems literacy and dynamic modeling tools in the public policy realm, civil society, private sector, and academic institutions in the developing and industrialized world.

- Threshold 21 is now in use in Bangladesh, United States, China, and Tunisia. Negotiations are in progress for many additional clients.
- The US Department of Agriculture has signed contract to develop agricultural models to link with Threshold 21.
- To date more than $450,000 has been raised to support the development of the THRESHOLD 21 model.
- Threshold 21 improves the understanding of the relative importance of urban and rural development and associated budget priorities.
- Threshold 21 improves understanding of alternative taxes, subsidies, and relative price policies in Bangladesh.
- Threshold 21 improves dialogue and cooperation among major donors, government agencies and non-government organizations .