Artificial economics : methods, models and interdisciplinary links

"This book presents an introductory and compact overview of methods, models and interdisciplinary links of Artificial Economics. This is a new way of doing Economics, in which the interactions of artificial economic agents are computationally simulated to study their individual and group behavior patterns. In a mostly intuitive and conceptual way, and with simple examples, the book introduces the basic assumptions and methods of Artificial Economics, and their differences with those of Mainstream Economics. Presents accessible examples of models of artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, evolutionary games, and cellular automata. Provides basic notions of some disciplines in which several of the concepts and methods of Artificial Economics originate, such as Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, the Science of Evolution, and Complexity Science. And presents introductory discussions on several controversial issues, such as the application of the concepts of evolution and complexity in Economics; the relationship between artificial intelligence and the philosophies of mind; and the longstanding agent/structure problem, to which Artificial Economics could make some methodological and instrumental contributions."