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Aggregation in agent-based models of economies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2012

Scott E. Page
Scott E. Page*
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA; e-mail: spage@umich.edu
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Abstract

Agent-based models are often described as bottom-up because macro-level phenomena emerge from the micro-level interactions of agents. These macro-level phenomena include fixed points, cycles, dynamic patterns, and long transients. In this paper, I explore the link between micro-level characteristics—learning rules, diversity, network structure, and externalities—and the macro-level patterns they produce. I focus on why we need agent-level modeling, on how these models produce emergent phenomenon, and on how agent-based models help understand outcomes of social systems in a way that differs from the analytic, equilibrium approach.

Type
Articles
Information
The Knowledge Engineering Review , Volume 27 , Special Issue 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics , 26 April 2012 , pp. 151 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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