In the aftermath of the financial crisis, with periphery countries in the European Union even more falling behind the core countries economically, there have been quests for various kind of fiscal policies in order to revert divergence. How these policies would unfold and perform comparatively...

Based on a closed agent-based macroeconomic simulation model (Eurace@Unibi) this paper analyzes whether the density of social networks influences via referrals the residual wage inequality in different skill groups. It is shown that an increase in network density leads to a polarization of firms...

Agent-based simulation models are a relatively new addition to the tool-box of macroeconomists. In this chapter we introduce the Eurace@Unibi model and the research that has been done within this framework. We show how an agent-based model can be used to identify economic mechanisms and how it...

In this paper we examine the role of the design of behavioral rules in agent-based macroeconomic modeling. Based on clear theoretical foundations, we develop a general representation of the behavioral rules governing price and quantity decisions of firms and show how rules used in four main...