Agent-based Computational Economics News & Articles
Selected news and articles about research and developments in Agent-based Computational Economics:28 Feb 23 - Agent-based models to inform economic policies on migration
The ABM2Policy
project by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
is a multidisciplinary endeavor aimed at enhancing the methodology of agent-based modeling
in the context of the Russian and Austrian economies. The primary objective is to provide
a realistic analysis of migration as an external economic shock. In Austria the project also
explores the potential of combining agent-based modeling with a gamified user interface to
facilitate discussions on migration policymaking.
21 Jun 22 - Agent-Based Modeling in Economics and Finance: Past, Present, and Future
In an INET Oxford Working Paper, Robert Axtell and J. Doyne Farmer review
Agent-Based Modeling in
economics and finance and highlight how it can be used to relax conventional assumptions in standard
economic models. They present a vision for how Agent-Based Models might be used in the future to build
more realistic models of the economy and review some of hurdles that must be overcome to achieve this.
30 Jun 21 - Using Agent-Based Models for Prediction in Complex and Wicked Systems
This paper argues that the complexity of the systems to which agent-based models are often applied is not the central
source of difficulties agent-based models have with prediction.
5 Mar 20 - Conference on Integrative Economics
An OECD-NAEC conference on Integrative Economics took place,
discussing applications of agent-based modeling ranging from pandemics such as covid-19, anti-microbial resistance, financial
instabilities and crises to complexity economics.
3 Oct 19 - Chaos Scientist Finds Hidden Financial Risks That Regulators Miss
Oxford Professor Doyne Farmer is working with central banks to improve stress testing using agent-based models.
While central banks mostly stress-test financial firms individually, agent-based models give regulators a better
read by accounting for the systemwide impact of shocks. In the simulations, a shock to a single firm cascades
through the network of banks and asset managers, creating feedback loops that significantly amplify the initial
losses. It's the kind of contagion that a decade ago spread from the US subprime mortgage market through lenders,
money managers, and insurers, creating a liquidity crisis that doomed Lehman Brothers and infected the global economy.
Full article from Bloomberg
14 Aug 18 - Empirical evidence for the Adaptive Market Hypothesis
A large empirical study has found evidence of a link between similarity/diversity of investor strategies and
market volatility, as has been suggested by the Adaptive Market Hypothesis. The research was done by researchers
from the University of Turku and the University of Palermo. The results have been published in the Palgrave
Communications journal 2018, 4 (1) and are available online.
1 Aug 16 - Online course "Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling"
Complexity Explorer starts its course
"Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling".
Complexity Explorer is an education project of the Santa Fe Institute and provides
online courses and other educational materials related to complex systems science.
2 Jun 15 - Institute for New Economic Thinking launches Agent Based Modeling Working Group
The renowned Institute for New Economic Thinking (founded in 2009 by George Soros and others as a result of the
global financial crisis) has launched an
Agent Based Modeling Working Group to model complex economic systems
from the bottom-up. It recognizes the economy as a complex adaptive system and tries to capture this complexity
in agent based computational models. The working group offers online lectures from experts, hands-on online modeling
projects and a support network.
15 Oct 14 - Defining Agent-based Models
In this
blog post, Zachary David points out a lively discussion about what Agent-based Models are (not)
and how they are (not) related to Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium models. This discussion recently
took place in the blogosphere and includes contributions from some renowned experts.
(We link to this particular post as it gives a concise briefing of the discussion with the relevant links
on top).
18 Apr 14 - Effects of High-Frequency Trading on asset price dynamics
In their
working paper "Rock around the Clock: An Agent-Based Model of Low- and High-Frequency Trading"
the authors use an agent-based model to study the effects of HFT on asset price dynamics. They conclude
that HFT increases volatility and contributes to flash crashes. Also see this interesting
commentary from Themis Trading in their blog.
15 Jul 13 - Why the Future of Innovation is Simulation
Computer simulations are increasingly being used in applications such as marketing, weather forecasts,
politics and logistic processes. Contrary to traditional approaches based on strategic analysis, computer
simulation allows testing thousands of different scenarios in a virtual environment based on real world
data for relatively low costs.
Full article from Forbes
8 Apr 13 - Realistic vs. "elegant" models
According to Mark Buchanan, Agent-based Computational Economics is showing promise
in providing more realistic models than the traditional "elegant" models based on
representative rational agents. For instance, a
study into the causes of the housing
boom and subsequent collapse of recent years used an agent-based model to simulate the
behavior of over 2 million homeowners, capturing effects that traditional models did not.
Full article from Bloomberg
Mark Buchanan's blog: The Physics of Finance
21 Dec 12 - Using agent-based models for analyzing threats to financial
stability
A
working paper by Richard Bookstaber from the Office of Financial Research of the US Treasury
Department describes how agent-based models can help understanding potential vulnerabilities
and risks in the financial system.
11 Jun 12 - Agent-based Computational Economics - a recent overview
A special issue of
The Knowledge Engineering Review provides an excellent overview of the field of
Agent-based Computational Economics by surveying nine recent papers, some of which presenting new
findings in several areas of application. One of the covered papers (Chen et al. 2012) focuses on
Agent-based Computational Finance and forecasting.
21 Sep 11 - Recent advances in the field
Two events took place recently that illustrate some advances and promising results in
Agent-based Computational Economics. Among these are coordinated efforts to develop standards for
the description, specification and validation of agent-based models to help establishing common
structures in the field that may facilitate more communication and comparison between different
models. Also, ACE simulations are now increasingly used to test theoretical models or to investigate
their properties when analytical solutions are not possible and more attention is going towards usage by
policy-makers.
- GSDP Agent-based modeling workshop (8-10 September 2011, Paris)
- Artificial Economics 2011 Conference (1-2 September 2011, The Hague)
31 Jan 11 - Simulating worst-case scenarios
Johns Hopkins University has launched the Center for Advanced Modeling
(CAM) in the Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences. The center, led by
professor Joshua Epstein, is aimed at research and applied work in the
field of agent-based modeling for simulations that could help predict
how societies will react to disasters such as infectious disease outbreaks,
natural disasters or economic turmoil.
Full article from Johns Hopkins Gazette
22 Jul 10 - Agents of change: Conventional economic models failed to foresee
the financial crisis. Could agent-based modeling do better?
Policy makers and advisors question the use of conventional economic
models by the FED and other central banks for national economic policy
and discuss the possibilities for using large-scale agent-based models
for understanding and predicting financial crises.
Full article from
The Economist
3 Dec 09 - New software to simulate future financial crises
New simulation software from the EU-funded
EURACE research project aims to predict
future banking crises or other economic turmoil. The software applies simulation
technology called FLAME (Flexible Large-scale Agent Modeling Environment) to predict
the interaction between large populations of different economic actors such as consumers,
companies and banks. The software is meant to enable better testing of a government
policy's effects on the economy while still on the drawing board.
Full article from
PhysOrg.com
6 Aug 09 - The economy needs agent-based modeling
According to J. Doyne Farmer and Duncan Foley (The New School for Social Research),
economic policy-makers should use
agent-based models instead of flawed econometric models that are fitted to past
data or dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models that assume a perfect world.
Full article from Nature
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