1.7) Applicability Of Agent Based Modelling (cont'd)

When to use ABM? (Axtell, 2000, Macal & North, 2008).

When the problem has a natural representation as being comprised of agents
When there are decisions and behaviours that can be well-defined
When it is important that agents have behaviours that reflect how individuals actually behave (if known)
When it is important that agents adapt and change their behaviours
When it is important that agents learn and engage in dynamic strategic interactions
When it is important that agents have a dynamic relationship with other agents, and agent relationships form, change, and decay
When it is important to model the processes by which agents form organizations, and adaptation and learning are important at the organization level
When it is important that agents have a spatial component to their behaviours and interactions
When the past is no predictor of the future because the processes of growth and change are dynamic
When scaling-up to arbitrary levels is important in terms of the number of agents, agent interactions and agent states
When process structural change needs to be an endogenous result of the model, rather than an input to the model