Agent-based models typically involve large numbers of interacting individuals with widely differing characteristics, rules of behavior, and sources of information. The dynamics of such systems can be extremely complex due to their high dimensionality. This chapter discusses a general method for...

Various approaches used in Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE) to model endogenously determined interactions between agents are discussed. This concerns models in which agents not only (learn how to) play some (market or other) game, but also (learn to) decide with whom to do that (or not).

A large portion of our economic interactions involves a very small portion of the population. We seem to prefer familiar venues. But the tendency to focus our attention on a few individuals or activities is an attribute that is typically omitted in our characterization of markets. In markets...

This chapter examines the relationship between agent-based modeling and economic decision-making experiments with human subjects. Both approaches exploit controlled “laboratory” conditions as a means of isolating the sources of aggregate phenomena. Research findings from laboratory studies...

This chapter presents an overview of the existing learning models in the economic literature. Furthermore, it discusses the choice of models that should be used under various circumstances and how adequate learning models can be chosen in simulation approaches. It gives advice for using the many...

Computer technology presents economists with new tools, but also raises novel methodological issues. This essay discusses the challenges faced by computational researchers, and proposes some solutions.

Economies are complicated systems encompassing micro behaviors, interaction patterns, and global regularities. Whether partial or general in scope, studies of economic systems must consider how to handle difficult real-world aspects such as asymmetric information, imperfect competition,...

This chapter presents an introduction to the series Handbooks in Economics. The series produced handbooks for various branches of economics, each of which is a definitive source, reference, and teaching supplement for the use by professional researchers and advanced graduate students. Each...