Getting the Best of Both Worlds? Developing Complementary Equation-Based and Agent-Based Models
Authored by Claudius Graebner, Catherine S E Bale, Bernardo Alves Furtado, Brais Alvarez-Pereira, James E Gentile, Heath Henderson, Francesca Lipari
Date Published: 2019
DOI: 10.1007/s10614-017-9763-8
Sponsors:
United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Austrian National Bank
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Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Mathematical description
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Abstract
We argue that building agent-based and equation-based versions of the
same theoretical model is a fruitful way of gaining insights into
real-world phenomena. We use the epistemological concept of models as
isolations and surrogate systems as the philosophical underpinning of
this argument. In particular, we show that agent-based and
equation-based approaches align well when used simultaneously and,
contrary to some common misconceptions, should be considered complements
rather than substitutes. We illustrate the usefulness of the approach by
examining a model of the long-run relationship between economic
development and inequality (i.e., the Kuznets hypothesis).
Tags
Agent-based models
Complexity
Social simulation
Dynamics
Epistemology
Economics
Inequality
growth
Equation-based models
Economic
methodology