An invaluable guide to the complex and increasingly vital study of social simulation

This is a revised, completely updated edition of the practical textbook that examines the techniques of building computer simulations to assist understanding of social and economic issues and problems. Interest in social simulation has been growing rapidly worldwide as a result of increasingly powerful hardware capabilities and software programs. The focus on this area of expertise is also influenced by a rising interest in the application of ideas of complexity, evolution, adaptation, and chaos in the...

Agent-based modelling in economics

Lynne Hamill and Nigel Gilbert, Centre for Research in Social Simulation (CRESS), University of Surrey, UK

New methods of economic modelling have been sought as a result of the global economic downturn in 2008.This unique book highlights the benefits of an agent-based modelling (ABM) approach. It demonstrates how ABM can easily handle complexity: heterogeneous people, households and firms interacting dynamically. Unlike traditional methods, ABM does not require people or firms to optimise or economic systems to reach...