Agent-Based Modelling
Brett W. Parris

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Introduction

Agent-based models (ABMs) are computer simulations based on object-oriented programming, in which discrete ‘agents’ (objects) interact in real time with each other and their environment according to certain rules. Agents can represent individuals, households, firms, governments or even land types, pathogens, livestock, power grids etc. ABMs still use mathematics, but the mathematics is embedded in the rules governing agents’ properties, behaviours and interactions, instead of governing and restricting the entire system and requiring it to converge to an equilibrium. ABMs permit the economic, social, legal, political, geographic, environmental, epidemiological and ethical dimensions of development policies to be integrated to a far greater degree than is possible with purely mathematical models. Agent-based modelling using object-oriented code libraries is also ideally suited to the development of theory based on taxonomical classification of different system components and their interactions.

ABMs are ideally suited to acting as a bridge between disciplines. They have opened up a new interdisciplinary research frontier spanning: anthropology, climate change, combat, development and natural resource management, ecology, economics, epidemiology, finance, geography, innovation and organisation theory, migration, operations research, peacekeeping, political science, terrorism, transport,  as well as more general works and active research on methodological issues such as ABM design and verification and validation of ABM results.

Books
Papers & Chapters
Quotes
Links

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Books

Agent-Based Modelling

Axelrod, R., (1997) The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration, Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, xiv+232 pp.

Batten, D.F., (2000) Discovering Artificial Economics: How Agents Learn and Economies Evolve, Westview Press, Boulder and Oxford, xxi + 314 pp.

Batty, M., (2005) Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA & London, xxiii + 565 pp.

Deguchi, H., (2004) Economics as an Agent-Based Complex System, Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, Berlin, Heidelberg & New York, xiii+261 pp.

Epstein, J.M., (2006) Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, xx + 356 pp.

Epstein, J.M. and Axtell, R., (1996) Growing Artificial Societies: Social Sciences from the Bottom Up, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, xv + 208 pp.

Gilbert, N. and Troitzsch, K.G., (2005) Simulation for the Social Scientist, 2nd Edition; Open University Press, Maidenhead & New York, xi+295 pp.

Leombruni, R. and Richiardi, M. (Eds.), (2004) Industry and Labor Dynamics: The Agent-Based Computational Approach, Proceedings of the Wild@Ace2003 Workshop, Torino, Italy, 3-4 October, 2003; World Scientific, Singapore, Hackensack, NJ & London, xxiii + 405  pp.

Miller, J.H. and Page, S.E., (2007) Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ & Oxford, xix + 263 pp.

North, M.J. and Macal, C.M., (2007) Managing Business Complexity: Discovering Strategic Solutions with Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, xi + 313 pp.

Paolucci, M. and Sacile, R., (2004) Agent-Based Manufacturing and Control Systems: New Agile Manufacturing Solutions for Achieving Peak Performance, APICS Series on Resource Management; CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL & London, xviii + 269 pp.

Perez, P. and Batten, D.F. (Eds.), (2006) Complex Science for a Complex World: Exploring Human Ecosystems with Agents, ANU E Press, Canberra, xv + 334  pp.

Sawyer, R.K., (2005) Social Emergence: Societies as Complex Systems, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, ix + 276 pp.

Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L. (Eds.), (2006) Handbook of Computational Economics, Vol. 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics, North-Holland, Amsterdam, Boston & London, xxx + pp. 829-1660  pp.

Java

To start with, I knew nothing about Java and had virtually no programming experience. I hunted around for good introductory books and settled on Barry Burd's two introductory books in the 'Dummies' series. Just get past the titles - the books are great, and if you have no programming experience, the Beginning Programming one is excellent.

Burd, B., (2003) Beginning Programming with Java for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NL, xx + 377 pp.

Burd, B., (2004) Java 2 for Dummies, 2nd Edition; Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NL, xviii + 360 pp.

An excellent, more comprehensive Java textbook is:

Horstmann, C., (2006) Big Java, 2nd Edition; John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, xxxii + 1216 pp.

Other useful Java books include:

Arnold, K., Gosling, J. and Holmes, D., (2006) The Java Programming Language, 4th Edition; Addison-Wesley for Sun Microsystems, Upper Saddle River, NJ, xxviii + 891 pp.

Eckel, B., (2006) Thinking in Java, 4th Edition; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1482 pp.

Flanagan, D., (2005) Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, 5th Edition; O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA, xxiv + 1225 pp.

Mak, R., (2003) Java Number Cruncher: The Java programmer's Guide to Numerical Computing, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, xi + 464 pp.

McLaughlin, B.D. and Edelson, J., (2007) Java & XML, 3rd Edition; O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA, xii + 465 pp.

Sierra, K. and Bates, B., (2005) Head First Java, 2nd Edition; O'Reilly, Sebastopol, CA, xxxii + 688 pp.

Eclipse

You can program in Java with a simple text editor, but using an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), makes life so much easier. Eclipse is arguably one the best IDE's. A good quick introduction to the main features of Eclipse is:

Burd, B., (2005) Eclipse for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NL, xiv + 346 pp.

Unified Modeling Language (UML) & Object-Oriented Design

For an excellent introduction to object-oriented concepts, for example if you trained on older procedural launguages, try:

Weisfeld, M., (2004) The Object-Oriented Thought Process, 2nd Edition; Sams Publishing Developer's Library, Indianapolis, xi + 271 pp.

Good books on UML include:

Bennett, S., Skelton, J. and Lunn, K., (2005) UML, 2nd Edition; Schaum's Ouline Series; McGraw Hill, New York & London, ix + 398 pp.

Chonoles, M.J. and Schardt, J.A., (2003) UML 2 for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, New York, xvi + 412 pp.

Larman, C., (2004) Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Iterative Development, 3rd Edition; Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, NJ, xxv + 703 pp.

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Papers & Chapters

General

Aumann, C.A., (2007) "A Methodology for Developing Simulation Models of Complex Systems", Ecological Modelling, Vol. 202, No. 3-4, April, pp. 385-396.

Axelrod, R., (2006) "Agent-Based Modeling as a Bridge Between Disciplines", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1565-1584.

Axelrod, R. and Tesfatsion, L., (2006) "A Guide for Newcomers to Agent-Based Modeling in the Social Sciences", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1647-1659.

Bainbridge, W.S., (2007) "The Scientific Research Potential of Virtual Worlds", Science, Vol. 317, No. 5837, 27 July, pp. 472-476.
[ABMs overlap with some interesting work being undertaken on massive online roleplaying games]

Bonabeau, E., (2002) "Agent-Based Modeling: Methods and Techniques for Simulating Human Systems", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 99, Supplement 3, 14 May, pp. 7280-7287.

Dawid, H., (2007) "Evolutionary Game Dynamics and the Analysis of Agent-Based Imitation Models: The Long Run, the Medium Run and the Importance of Global Analysis", Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 31, No. 6, June, pp. 2108-2133. 

Janssen, M.A. and Ostrom, E., (2006) "Empirically Based, Agent-Based Models", Ecology and Society, Vol. 11, No. 2, 13 pp.

Kendrick, D.A., (2007) "Teaching Computational Economics to Graduate Students", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 4, November, pp. 381-391.

Ma, T., Nakamori, Y. and Huang, W., (2006) "An Agent-Based Approach for Predictions Based on Multi-Dimensional Complex Data", Information Sciences, Vol. 176, No. 9, 8 May, pp. 1156-1174.

Polhill, J.G. and Edmonds, B., (2007) "Open Access for Social Simulation", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 10, No. 3, June, pp. 16.

Railsback, S., Lytinen, S. and Jackson, S., (2006) "Agent-Based Simulation Platforms: Review and Development Recommendations", Simulation, Vol. 82, No. 9, September, pp. 609-623.

Rauch, J., (2002) "Seeing Around Corners", The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 289, No. 4, April, pp. 35-48.

Ryoke, M. and Nakamori, Y., (2005) "Agent-Based Approach to Complex Systems Modeling", European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 166, No. 3, November, pp. 717-725.

Zyda, M., (2005) "From Visual Simulation to Virtual Reality to Games", IEEE Computer, Vol. 38, No. 9, September, pp. 25-32. Presentation here.

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Anthropology

Axtell, R.L., Epstein, J.M., Dean, J.S., Gumerman, G.J., Swedlund, A.C., Harburger, J., Chakravarty, S., Hammond, R., Parker, J. and Parker, M., (2002) "Population Growth and Collapse in a Multiagent Model of the Kayenta Anasazi in Long House Valley", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 99, No. 3, 14 May, pp. 7275–7279.

Bousquet, F., Le Page, C., Bakam, I. and Takforyan, A., (2001) "Multiagent Simulations of Hunting Wild Meat in a Village in Eastern Cameroon", Ecological Modelling, Vol. 138, No. 1-3, March, pp. 331-346.

Diamond, J.M., (2002) "Life with the Artificial Anasazi", Nature, Vol. 419, No. 6907, 10 October, pp. 567-569.

Kohler, T.A., (2005) "Simulating Ancient Societies", Scientific American, Vol. 293, No. 1, July, pp. 76-84.

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Climate Change

Janssen, M.A. and de Vries, H.J.M., (1998) "The Battle of Perspectives: A Multi-Agent Model with Adaptive Responses to Climate Change", Ecological Economics, Vol. 26, No. 1, July, pp. 43-65.

Moss, S., Pahl-Wostl, C. and Downing, T.E., (2001) "Agent-Based Integrated Assessment Modeling: The Example of Climate Change", Integrated Assessment, Vol. 2, No. 1, March, pp. 17-30.

Patt, A. and Siebenhüner, B., (2005) "Agent Based Modeling and Adaptation to Climate Change", Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 310–320.

Ziervogel, G., Bithell, M., Washington, R. and Downing, T., (2005) "Agent-Based Social Simulation: A Method for Assessing the Impact of Seasonal Climate Forecast Applications Among Smallholder Farmers", Agricultural Systems, Vol. 83, No. 1, January, pp. 1-26. 

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Combat

Chaturvedi, A.R., Dolk, D., Chaturvedi, R., Mulpuri, M., Lengacher, D., Mellema, S., Poddar, P., Foong, C. and Armstrong, B., (2005) "Understanding Insurgency by Using Agent-Based Computational Experimentation: Case Study of Indonesia", In Proceedings of the Agent 2005 Conference on Generative Social Processes, Models, and Mechanisms ed. Macal, C.M., North, M.J. and Sallach, D.; ANL/DIS-06-5, Co-sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago, October 13-15, pp. 781-799.

Ilachinski, A., (2004) Artificial War: Multiagent-Based Simulation of Combat, World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore, 784 pp.

Koehler, M.T.K., Barry, P.S. and Meyer, T.E., (2006) "Sending Agents to War", In Proceedings of the Agent 2006 Conference on Social Agents: Results and Prospects ed. Sallach, D., Macal, C.M. and North, M.J.; ANL/DIS-06-7, Co-sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago, September 21-23, pp. 245-253.

Reuss, G., Stone, G., Schutzmeister, S., Stephens, S. and Ross-Witkowski, C., (2006) "MORS Workshop: Agent-Based Models and Other Analytic Tools in Support of Stability Operations", Final report of a workshop held in McLean, Virginia from 25-27 October 2005, Alexandria, Virginia, Military Operations Research Society, 15 February, 47 pp.

Wheeler, S., (2005) "It Pays to Be Popular: A Study of Civilian Assistance and Guerilla Warfare", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 8, No. 4, October, pp. 13.

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Development & Natural Resource Management

Barreteau, O., (2003) "Our Companion Modelling Approach", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 6, No. 1, March, 6 pp.

Barreteau, O. and Bousquet, F., (2000) "SHADOC: A Multiagent Model to Tackle Viability of Irrigated Systems", Annals of Operations Research, Vol. 94, pp. 139-162.

Barreteau, O., Bousquet, F. and Attonaty, J.-M., (2001) "Role-Playing Games for Opening the Black Box of Multi-Agent Systems: Method and Lessons of its Application to Senegal River Valley Irrigated Systems", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 4, No. 2, March, pp. 18.

Becu, N., Bousquet, F., Barreteau, O., Perez, P. and Walker, A., (2003) "A Methodology for Eliciting and Modelling Stakeholders' Representations with Agent Based Modelling", In Multi-Agent Based Simulation III, Revised papers from the 4th International Workshop (MABS 2003), Melbourne, Australia, July 14, 2003, Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 2927 ed. Hales, D., Edmonds, B. and Norling, E.; Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 131-148.

Boulanger, P.-M. and Bréchet, T., (2005) "Models for Policy-Making in Sustainable Development: The State of the Art and Perspectives for Research", Ecological Economics, Vol. 55, No. 3, 15 November, pp. 337-350.

Dray, A., Perez, P., Jones, N., Le Page, C., D'Aquino, P. and Auatabu, T., (2006) "The AtollGame Experience: From Knowledge Engineering to a Computer-Assisted Role Playing Game", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 9, No. 1, January, pp. 10.

Dray, A., Perez, P., Le Page, C., D'Aquino, P. and White, I., (2006) "AtollGame: A Companion Modelling Experience in the Pacific", In Complex Science for a Complex World: Exploring Human Ecosystems with Agents ed. Perez, P. and Batten, D.F.; ANU E Press, Canberra, pp. 255-282.

Gurung, T.R., Bousquet, F. and Trébuil, G., (2006) "Companion Modeling, Conflict Resolution, and Institution Building: Sharing Irrigation Water in the Lingmuteychu Watershed, Bhutan", Ecology and Society, Vol. 11, No. 2, 49 pp.

Guyot, P. and Honiden, S., (2006) "Agent-Based Participatory Simulations: Merging Multi-Agent Systems and Role-Playing Games", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 9, No. 4, 31 October, 15 pp.

Little, L.R. and McDonald, A.D., (2007) "Simulations of Agents in Social Networks Harvesting a Resource", Ecological Modelling, Vol. 204, No. 3-4, 16 June, pp. 379-386.

Manson, S.M. and Evans, T., (2007) "Agent-based Modeling of Deforestation in Southern Yucatan, Mexico, and Reforestation in the Midwest United States", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 104, No. 52, 26 December, pp. 20678-20683.

Robinson, D.T., Brown, D.G., Parker, D.C., Schreinemachers, P., Janssen, M.A., Huigen, M., Wittmer, H., Gotts, N., Promburom, P., Irwin, E., Berger, T., Gatzweiler, F. and Barnaud, C., (2007) "Comparison of Empirical Methods for Building Agent-Based Models in Land Use Science", Journal of Land Use Science, Vol. 2, No. 1, March, pp. 31 - 55.

Smajgl, A., (2007) "Modelling Evolving Rules for the Use of Common Pool Resources in an Agent-Based Model", Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 56-80.

van Hofwegen, G., Becx, G.A., van den Broek, J.A. and Koning, N.B.J., (2007) "Unraveling the Unsustainability Spiral in Subsaharan Africa: An Agent-Based Modelling Approach", Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 112-137.

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Ecology

Breckling, B., Middelhoff, U. and Reuter, H., (2006) "Individual-Based Models as Tools for Ecological Theory and Application: Understanding the Emergence of Organisational Properties in Ecological Systems", Ecological Modelling, Vol. 194, No. 1-3, March, pp. 102-113.

Green, D. and Sadedin, S., (2005) "Interactions Matter - Complexity in Landscapes and Ecosystems", Ecological Complexity, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 117-130.

Grimm, V., Revilla, E., Berger, U., Jeltsch, F., Mooij, W.M., Railsback, S.F., Thulke, H.-H., Weiner, J., Wiegand, T. and DeAngelis, D.L., (2005) "Pattern-Oriented Modeling of Agent-Based Complex Systems: Lessons from Ecology", Science, Vol. 310, No. 5750, 11 November, pp. 987-991.

Janssen, M.A. and Ostrom, E., (2006) "Governing Social-Ecological Systems", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1465-1509.

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Economics

Arthur, W.B., (2006) "Out-of-Equilibrium Economics and Agent-Based Modeling", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1551-1564.

Atkins, K., Marathe, A. and Barrett, C., (2007) "A Computational Approach to Modeling Commodity Markets", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 2, September, pp. 125-142.

Chaturvedi, A., Mehta, S., Dolk, D. and Ayer, R., (2005) "Agent-Based Simulation for Computational Experimentation: Developing an Artificial Labor Market", European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 166, No. 3, November, pp. 694-716.

Chen, S.-H., (2003) "Agent-Based Computational Macroeconomics: A Survey", In Meeting the Challenge of Social Problems via Agent-Based Simulation: Post Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems ed. Terano, T., Dehuchi, H. and Takadama, K.; Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg & New York, pp. 141-170.

Chen, S.-H., (2005) "Computational Intelligence in Economics and Finance: Carrying on the Legacy of Herbert Simon", Information Sciences, Vol. 170, No. 1, February, pp. 121-131.

Chen, S.-H., (2005) "Trends in Agent-Based Computational Modeling of Macroeconomics", New Generation Computing, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 3-11.

Edmonds, B. and Hales, D., (2004) "When and Why Does Haggling Occur? Some Suggestions from a Qualitative but Computational Simulation of Negotiation", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 7, No. 2, March, pp. 33.

Gibson, B., (2007) "A Multi-Agent Systems Approach to Microeconomic Foundations of Macro", Working Paper 2007-10, Amherst, MA, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, 23 pp.

Hoekstra, R.C., van Arkel, H. and Leurs, B., (2007) "Modeling Local Monetary Flows in Poor Regions: A Research Setup to Simulate the Multiplier Effect in Local Economies", Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 138-150.

Holland, J.H. and Miller, J.H., (1991) "Artificial Adaptive Agents in Economic Theory", American Economic Review, Vol. 81, No. 2, May, pp. 365-371.

Howitt, P., (2006) "Coordination Issues in Long-Run Growth", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1605-1624.

Judd, K.L., (2006) "Computationally Intensive Analyses in Economics", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 881-893.

Kirman, A.P. and Vriend, N.J., (2001) "Evolving Market Structure: An ACE Model of Price Dispersion and Loyalty", Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 25, No. 3-4, March, pp. 459-502.

Lane, D.A., (1993) "Artificial Worlds and Economics, Part I", Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Vol. 3, No. 2, May, pp. 89-107.

Lane, D.A., (1993) "Artificial Worlds and Economics, Part II", Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Vol. 3, No. 3, August, pp. 177-197.

Leijonhufvud, A., (2006) "Agent-Based Macro", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1625-1637.

Marks, R., (2006) "Market Design Using Agent-Based Models", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1339-1380.

Parris, B.W., (2005) "An Agent-Based Approach to Value Theory and Wealth Distribution in Economics", In MODSIM 2005 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation ed. Zerger, A. and Argent, R.M.; Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, 12-15 December 2005, Melbourne, pp. 1077-1083.

Sun, J. and Tesfatsion, L., (2007) "Dynamic Testing of Wholesale Power Market Designs: An Open-Source Agent-Based Framework", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, October, pp. 291-327. For more on this project and an extended version of this paper see here.

Tesfatsion, L., (1997) "How Economists Can Get ALife", In The Economy as an Evolving Complex System II ed. Arthur, W.B., Durlauf, S.N. and Lane, D.A.; Westview Press, Boulder, pp. 533-564.

Tesfatsion, L., (2001) "Structure, Behavior, and Market Power in an Evolutionary Labor Market with Adaptive Search", Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, Vol. 25, No. 3-4, March, pp. 419-457.

Tesfatsion, L., (2002) "Agent-Based Computational Economics: Growing Economies From the Bottom Up", Artificial Life, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 55-82.

Tesfatsion, L., (2002) "Economic Agents and Markets as Emergent Phenomena", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 99, Supplement 3, December, pp. 7191-7192.

Tesfatsion, L., (2003) "Agent-Based Computational Economics: Modeling Economies as Complex Adaptive Systems", Information Sciences, February, Vol. 149 263-269 pp.

Tesfatsion, L., (2006) "Agent Based Computational Economics: A Constructive Approach to Economic Theory", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 831-880.

Tesfatsion, L., (2007) "Agents Come to Bits: Towards a Constructive Comprehensive Taxonomy of Economic Entities", Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 63, No. 2, June, pp. 333-346.

Tesfatsion, L., (2006) "Agent-Based Computational Modeling and Macroeconomics", In Post Walrasian Macroeconomics: Beyond the Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Model ed. Colander, D.; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 175-202.

Zeidenberg, M., (2005) "Agent-Based Models of Urban Industrial Specialization", In Proceedings of the Agent 2005 Conference on Generative Social Processes, Models, and Mechanisms ed. Macal, C.M., North, M.J. and Sallach, D.; ANL/DIS-06-5, Co-sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago, October 13-15, pp. 409-417.

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Epidemiology

Bian, L. and Liebner, D., (2007) "A Network Model for Dispersion of Communicable Diseases", Transactions in GIS, Vol. 11, No. 2, April, pp. 155-173.

Dunham, J.B., (2006) "An Agent-Based Spatially Explicit Epidemiological Model in MASON", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 9, No. 1, January.

Eubank, S., Guclu, H., Anil Kumar, V.S., Marathe, M.V., Srinivasan, A., Toroczkai, Z. and Wang, N., (2004) "Modelling Disease Outbreaks in Realistic Urban Social Networks", Nature, Vol. 429, No. 6988, 13 May, pp. 180-184.

Huang, C.-Y., Sun, C.-T., Hsieh, J.-L. and Lin, H., (2004) "Simulating SARS: Small-World Epidemiological Modeling and Public Health Policy Assessments", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 7, No. 4, October.

Perez, P. and Dray, A., (2005) "SIMDRUG: Exploring the Complexity of Heroin Use in Melbourne", Drug Policy Modelling Project, Monograph 11, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Centre, December, 48 pp.

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Finance

Arthur, W.B., Holland, J.H., LeBaron, B., Palmer, R. and Tayler, P., (1997) "Asset Pricing Under Endogenous Expectations in an Artificial Stock Market", In The Economy as an Evolving Complex System II ed. Arthur, W.B., Durlauf, S.N. and Lane, D.A.; Westview Press, Boulder, pp. 15-44.

Hoffmann, A.O.I. and Von Eije, J.H., (2007) "Social Simulation of Stock Markets: Taking It to the Next Level", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 10, No. 2, March, pp. 15.

LeBaron, B., (2000) "Agent-Based Computational Finance: Suggested Readings and Early Research", Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, Vol. 24, No. 5-7, June, pp. 679-702.

LeBaron, B., (2002) "Building the Santa Fe Artificial Stock Market", Working Paper, Graduate School of International Economics and Finance, Brandeis University, June, 19 pp.

LeBaron, B., (2006) "Agent-Based Computational Finance", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1187-1233.

Palmer, R.G., Arthur, W.B., Holland, J.H., LeBaron, B. and Taylor, P., (1994) "Artificial Economic Life: A Simple Model of a Stock Market", Physica D, Vol. 75, No. 1-3, 1 August, pp. 264–265.

Polhill, J.G. and Izquierdo, L.R., (2005) "Lessons Learned from Converting the Artificial Stock Market to Interval Arithmetic", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 8, No. 2, March, pp. 13.

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Geography

An, L., Linderman, M., Qi, J., Shortridge, A. and Liu, J., (2005) "Exploring Complexity in a Human–Environment System: An Agent-Based Spatial Model for Multidisciplinary and Multiscale Integration", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 95, No. 1, March, pp. 54-79.

Batty, M., (2005) Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA & London, xxiii + 565 pp.

Brown, D.G. and Robinson, D.T., (2006) "Effects of Heterogeneity in Residential Preferences on an Agent-Based Model of Urban Sprawl", Ecology and Society, Vol. 11, No. 1, 22 pp.

Castle, C.J.E. and Crooks, A.T., (2006) "Principles and Concepts of Agent-Based Modelling for Developing Geospatial Simulations", UCL Working Papers Series, Paper 110, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, September, 60 pp.

Crooks, A.T., (2006) "Exploring Cities Using Agent Based Models and GIS", UCL Working Papers Series, Paper 109, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, September, 9 pp.

Crooks, A.T., Castle, C.J.E. and Batty, M., (2007) "Key Challenges in Agent-Based Modelling for Geo-Spatial Simulation", UCL Working Papers Series, Paper 121, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, September, 37 pp.

Dibble, C., (2006) "Computational Laboratories for Spatial Agent-Based Models", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1511-1548.

Dibble, C. and Feldman, P.G., (2004) "The GeoGraph 3D Computational Laboratory: Network and Terrain Landscapes for RePast", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 7, No. 1.

Irwin, E.E. and Bockstael, N.G., (2002) "Interacting Agents, Spatial Externalities and the Evolution of Residential Land Use Patterns", Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 2, No. 1, January, pp. 31-54.

Parker, D.C., Manson, S.M., Janssen, M.A., Hoffmann, M.J. and Deadman, P., (2003) "Multi-Agent Systems for the Simulation of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change: A Review", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 314-337.

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Innovation and Organisation Theory

Ahrweiler, P., Pyka, A. and Gilbert, N., (2004) "Simulating Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Networks (SKIN)", Working Paper No. 267, University of Augsburg, December, 10 pp.

Albino, V., Carbonara, N. and Giannoccaro, I., (2006) "Innovation in Industrial Districts: An Agent-Based Simulation Model", International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 104, No. 1, November, pp. 30-45.

Cartier, M., (2004) "An Agent-Based Model of Innovation Emergence in Organizations: Renault and Ford Through the Lens of Evolutionism", Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 147-153.

Dawid, H., (2006) "Agent-Based Models of Innovation and Technological Change", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1235-1272.

Gilbert, N., Pyka, A. and Ahrweiler, P., (2001) "Innovation Networks - A Simulation Approach", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 4, No. 3, June.

Ma, T. and Nakamori, Y., (2005) "Agent-Based Modeling on Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process", European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 166, No. 3, November, pp. 741-755.

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Migration

Silveira, J.J., Espindola, A.L. and Penna, T.J.P., (2006) "Agent-Based Model to Rural-Urban Migration Analysis", Physica A, Vol. 364, 15 May, pp. 445-456.

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Operations Research

Albino, V., Carbonara, N. and Giannoccaro, I., (2007) "Supply Chain Cooperation in Industrial Districts: A Simulation Analysis", European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 177, No. 1, February, pp. 261-280.

Paolucci, M. and Sacile, R., (2004) Agent-Based Manufacturing and Control Systems: New Agile Manufacturing Solutions for Achieving Peak Performance, APICS Series on Resource Management; CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL & London, xviii + 269 pp.

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Peacekeeping

Schwarz, G. and Lampe, T., (2005) "Experiments with PAX: A Quick Guide", Friedrichshafen, Germany, EADS Deutschland GmbH, System Design Center, July, 16 pp.

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Political Science

Cederman, L.-E., (2001) "Agent-Based Modeling in Political Science", The Political Methodologist, Vol. 10, No. 1, Fall, pp. 16-22.

Cederman, L.-E., (2002) "Endogenizing Geopolitical Boundaries with Agent-Based Modeling", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 99, Supplement 3, 14 May, pp. 7296-7303.

Cederman, L.-E., (2003) "Modelling the Size of Wars: From Billiard Balls to Sand Piles", American Political Science Review, Vol. 97, No. 1, February, pp. 135-150.

Epstein, J.M., (2002) "Modeling Civil Violence: An Agent-Based Computational Approach", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 99, Supplement 3, 14 May, pp. 7243-7250.

Kollman, K. and Page, S.E., (2006) "Computational Methods and Models of Politics", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1433-1463.

Lim, M., Metzler, R. and Bar-Yam, Y., (2007) "Global Pattern Formation and Ethnic/Cultural Violence", Science, Vol. 317, No. 5844, 14 September, pp. 1540-1544.

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Terrorism

Carley, K.M., Fridsma, D.B., Casman, E., Yahja, A., Altman, N., Chen, L.-C., Kaminsky, B. and Nave, D., (2006) "BioWar: Scalable Agent-Based Model of Bioattacks", IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part A: Systems and Humans, Vol. 36, No. 2, March, pp. 252-265.

Elliott, E. and Kiel, L.D., (2004) "A Complex Systems Approach for Developing Public Policy Toward Terrorism: An Agent-Based Approach", Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Vol. 20, No. 1, April, pp. 63-68.

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Transport

Gambardella, L.M., Rizzoli, A.E. and Funk, P., (2002) "Agent-based Planning and Simulation of Combined Rail/Road Transport", SIMULATION, Vol. 78, No. 5, 1 May, pp. 293-303.

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ABM Design

Chen, S.-H., (2001) "On the Relevance of Genetic Programming to Evolutionary Economics", In Evolutionary Controversies in Economics: A New Transdisciplinary Approach ed. Aruka, Y.; Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics, Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, pp. 135-150.

Chen, S.-H., (2002) "Fundamental Issues in the Use of Genetic Programming in Agent-Based Computational Economics", In Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems ed. Namatame, A., Terano, T. and Kurumatani, K.; IOS Press, Amsterdam, pp. 208-220.

Davis, P.K., Bankes, S.C. and Egner, M., (2007) "Enhancing Strategic Planning with Massive Scenario Generation", Technical Report TR-392, Santa Monica, CA; Arlington, VA & Pittsburgh, PA, RAND National Security Research Division, xvii + 58 pp.

Janssen, M.A. and Ostrom, E., (2006) "Empirically Based, Agent-Based Models", Ecology and Society, Vol. 11, No. 2, 13 pp.

Grimm, V., Berger, U., Bastiansen, F., Eliassen, S., Ginot, V., Giske, J., Goss-Custard, J., Grand, T., Heinz, S.K., Huse, G., Huth, A., Jepsen, J.U., Jørgensen, C., Mooij, W.M., Müller, B., Pe’er, G., Piou, C., Railsback, S.F., Robbins, A.M., Robbins, M.M., Rossmanith, E., Rüger, N., Strand, E., Souissi, S., Stillman, R.A., Vabø, R., Visser, U. and DeAngelis, D.L., (2006) "A Standard Protocol for Describing Individual-Based and Agent-Based Models", Ecological Modelling, Vol. 198, No. 1-2, 15 September, pp. 115-126.

Kleijnen, J.P.C., Sanchez, S.M., Lucas, T.W. and Cioppa, T.M., (2005) "A User's Guide to the Brave New World of Designing Simulation Experiments", INFORMS Journal on Computing, Vol. 17, No. 3, Summer, pp. 263-289.

Law, A.M., (2005) "How to Build Valid and Credible Simulation Models", In Proceedings of the 2005 Winter Simulation Conference ed. Kuhl, M.E., Steiger, N.M., Armstrong, F.B. and Joines, J.A.; Orlando FL,  December, pp. 24-32.

Lucas, T., Sanchez, S.M., Brown, L. and Vinyard, W., (2002) "Better Designs for High-Dimensional Explorations of Distillations", Maneuver Warfare Science 2002, U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA, pp. 17-45.

Polhill, J.G., Izquierdo, L.R. and Gotts, N.M., (2005) "The Ghost in the Model (and Other Effects of Floating Point Arithmetic)", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 8, No. 1, January, pp. 21.

Polhill, J.G., Izquierdo, L.R. and Gotts, N.M., (2006) "What Every Agent-Based Modeller Should Know About Floating Point Arithmetic", Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 21, No. 3, March, pp. 283-309.

Ramanath, A.M. and Gilbert, N., (2004) "The Design of Participatory Agent-Based Social Simulations", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 7, No. 4, October, pp. 13.

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Verification & Validation

Balci, O., (2004) "Quality Assessment, Verification, and Validation of Modeling and Simulation Applications", In Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference ed. Ingalls, R.G., Rossetti, M.D., Smith, J.S. and Peters, B.A.; Washington DC, 5-8 December, pp. 122-129.

Bianchi, C., Cirillo, P., Gallegati, M. and Vagliasindi, P., (2007) "Validating and Calibrating Agent-Based Models: A Case Study", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, October, pp. 245-264.

Brady, T.F. and Yellig, E., (2005) "Simulation Data Mining: A New Form of Computer Simulation Output", In Proceedings of the 2005 Winter Simulation Conference ed. Kuhl, M.E., Steiger, N.M., Armstrong, F.B. and Joines, J.A.; Orlando FL,  December, pp. 285-289.

Brenner, T. and Werker, C., (2007) "A Taxonomy of Inference in Simulation Models", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, October, pp. 227-244.

Fagiolo, G., Moneta, A. and Windrum, P., (2007) "A Critical Guide to Empirical Validation of Agent-Based Models in Economics: Methodologies, Procedures, and Open Problems", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, October, pp. 195-226.

Law, A.M., (2004) "Statistical Analysis of Simulation Output Data: The Practical State of the Art", In Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference ed. Ingalls, R.G., Rossetti, M.D., Smith, J.S. and Peters, B.A.; Washington DC, 5-8 December, pp. 67-72.

Marks, R.E., (2007) "Validating Simulation Models: A General Framework and Four Applied Examples", Computational Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, October, pp. 265-290.

Tinvan, B.F., (2004) "Data Farming Coevolutionary Dynamics in Repast", In Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference ed. Ingalls, R.G., Rossetti, M.D., Smith, J.S. and Peters, B.A.; Washington DC, 5-8 December, pp. 820-826.

Veglio, A. and Marsili, M., (2007) "Stochastic Analysis of an Agent-Based Model", Physica A, Vol. 385, No. 2, 15 November, pp. 631-636.

Wilcox, S.P., (2005) "Agent-Based Models as Quantitative Sociological Methodology: Calibrating Simulation Models to Data and Finding Confidence Intervals for Model Parameters", In Proceedings of the Agent 2005 Conference on Generative Social Processes, Models, and Mechanisms ed. Macal, C.M., North, M.J. and Sallach, D.; ANL/DIS-06-5, Co-sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Chicago, October 13-15, pp. 215-234.

Windrum, P., Fagiolo, G. and Moneta, A., (2007) "Empirical Validation of Agent-Based Models: Alternatives and Prospects", Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 10, No. 2, March, 19 pp.

Ye, K.Q., (1998) "Orthogonal Column Latin Hypercubes and Their Application in Computer Experiments", Journal of the American Statistical Association – Theory and Methods, Vol. 93, No. 444, December, pp. 1430-1439.

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Quotes

On ABMs' ability to naturally model out-of-equilibrium behaviour
"This out-of-equilibrium approach is not a minor adjunct to standard economic theory; it is economics done in a more general way. When examined out of equilibrium, economic patterns sometimes simplify into a simple, homogeneous equilibrium of standard economics; but just as often they show perpetually novel and complex behavior." 
Arthur, W.B., (2006) "Out-of-Equilibrium Economics and Agent-Based Modeling", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Judd, K. and Tesfatsion, L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1551-1564; p. 1552.

On the suitability of ABMs for modelling co-ordination decisions
"Economic growth depends not only on how people make decisions but also upon how their decisions are coordinated. Because of this, aggregate outcomes can diverge from individual intentions. … Agent-based computational methods are ideally suited for studying the aspects of growth most affected by coordination issues."
Howitt, P., (2006) "Coordination Issues in Long-Run Growth", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Judd, K. and Tesfatsion, L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1605-1624.; p. 1606.

After comparing six different approaches to modelling sustainable development policy
"Unambiguously, the most promising modelling approach seems to be the multi-agent simulation model. … It is our opinion that public scientific and R and D policy-makers and advisers should foster their development and use in universities, schools and research institutions."
Boulanger, P.-M. and Bréchet, T., (2005) "Models for Policy-Making in Sustainable Development: The State of the Art and Perspectives for Research", Ecological Economics, Vol. 55, No. 3, 15 November, pp. 337-350; p. 349. The six approaches compared were macro-econometric, general equilibrium, optimisation, Bayesian networks, system dynamics and multi-agent (agent-based) models.

On recognising that models of interactions can have “combinatorial complexities that make it difficult (if not impossible) to obtain closed-form solutions”
"[E]conomists often examine simple models in the search for ‘the’ cause of some economic phenomenon, and argue for a parsimonious explanation of their observations. This approach often ignores the possibility that the truth could be multidimensional, and that the multiple dimensions of reality could interact to produce phenomena that no one factor could explain. While we all like parsimony, true parsimony chooses a model as simple as possible without being too simple, and would not force our thinking into a conceptual straightjacket."
Judd, K.L., (2006) "Computationally Intensive Analyses in Economics", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Judd, K. and Tesfatsion, L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 881-893; p. 885.

On the trade-off between numerical errors and specification errors
"[N]umerical errors can be reduced through computation but correcting the specification errors of analytically tractable models is much more difficult. The issue is not whether we have errors, but where we put those errors. The key fact is that economists face a trade-off between the numerical errors in computational work and the specification errors of analytically tractable models."
Judd, K.L., (2006) "Computationally Intensive Analyses in Economics", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Judd, K. and Tesfatsion, L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 881-893; p. 887.

On the appeal of ABMs in political science
"In our view, complex systems and computational techniques will have a large and growing impact on research on politics in the near future. This optimism follows from the observation that the concepts used in computational methodology in general and agent-based models in particular resonate deeply within political science because of the domains of study in the discipline and because early findings from agent-based models align with widely known empirical regularities in the political world."
Kollman, K. and Page, S.E., (2006) "Computational Methods and Models of Politics", In Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics ed. Tesfatsion, L. and Judd, K.L.; North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 1433-1463; p. 1434.

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Links

Leigh Tesfatsion's Agent-Based Modelling portal - The best site on the net for agent-based computational economics.

Repast - One of the best free agent-based modelling tools. Repast is very powerful but requires Java or C# programming skills.

For an excellent Repast tutorial by John Murphy (for Repast 3 not Simphony), click here.

Netlogo - Another one of the best free agent-based modelling tools. Netlogo is very well documented with dozens of demo programs with full code.

MASON is another platform that is apparently quite good, though I haven't used it.

CORMAS quoted by Sawyer in his Social Emergence-Societies as Complex Systems (2005) as one of the best platforms to tackle social complexity.

For an excellent introduction to agent-based computational economics, take a look at the materials from the Seventh Trento Summer School held in 2006.

Each year the Argonne National Laboratory holds an 'Agent' conference (eg. Agent 2007), for all the proceedings & tutorials, see here.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Agent-Based Modelling A useful blog by Andrew Crooks & Christian Castle.

University College London's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

Monash University's VLAB - Lots of good demos of agent-based modelling applications.

CSIRO's Agent-Based Modelling Group (CABM)

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) - An excellent online peer-reviewed journal.

Course on Computational Tools for Modelling Social Phenomena by Robert Webber, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Lots of good notes and links.

Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents (ESHIA)

European Social Simulation Association

WinterSim - An annual conference held in the (Northern) Winter. Past programs and full papers are available here.

Java programming & other software:

Get the free Java SE Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Sun here.

Get Java 3D here.

For Java tutorials from Sun click here.

More Java programming tutorials here.

Big Faceless Java Graph Library - "A class library for creating industry leading Graphs and Charts in Java".

Java Topology Suite - An open source class library for 2D spatial work.

JUNG - "The Java Universal Network/Graph Framework is a software library that provides a common and extendible language for the modeling, analysis, and visualization of data that can be represented as a graph or network."

JGAP - Java Genetic Algorithms Package: "JGAP is a Genetic Algorithms and Genetic Programming component provided as a Java framework. It provides basic genetic mechanisms that can be easily used to apply evolutionary principles to problem solutions."

Weka - Data mining software in Java. "Weka is a collection of machine learning algorithms for data mining tasks. The algorithms can either be applied directly to a dataset or called from your own Java code."

Eclipse is one of the best Integrated Development Environments for Java programming.

For UML try Visual Paradigm. The Community version is free.

For Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Manifold is fantastic - and far cheaper than ESRI's ArcGIS suite.

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