Social Science Microsimulation

by Troitzsch, Klaus G.; Mueller, Ulrich; Gilbert, G. Nigel; Doran, Jim E.

• ISBN13: 9783540615729
• ISBN10: 3540615725
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-12-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

This book gives an overview of the state of the art in five different approaches to social science simulation on the individual level. The volume contains microanalytical simulation models designed for policy implementation and evaluation, multilevel simulation methods designed for detecting emergent phenomena, dynamical game theory applications, the use of cellular automata to explain the emergence of structure in social systems, and multi-agent models using the experience from distributed artificial intelligence applied to special phenomena. The book collects the results of an international conference which brought together social scientists and computer scientists both engaged in a wide range of simulation approaches for the first time.

Table of Contents

Preface
A Comparison of a 4GL and an Object-oriented Approach in Micro Macro Simulation	p. 3
MICSIM: Concept, Developments, and Applications of a PC Microsimulation Model for Research and Teaching	p. 33
Exploring and Testing Theories: On the Role of Parameter Optimization in Social Science Computer Simulation	p. 66
Why Are We Simulating Anyway? Some Answers from Economics	p. 78
Multilevel Simulation	p. 107
Social Science Multilevel Simulation with MIMOSE	p. 123
Multilevel Modelling with MIMOSE: Experience from a Social Science Application	p. 138
A Microsimulation Tool for Social Force Models	p. 155
Evolution in Humans of Macro-level Social Stratification and Language	p. 171
Survival Analysis, Master Equation, Efficient Simulation of Path-Related Quantities, and Hidden State Concept of Transitions	p. 179
Game Theory, Decision Making in Conflicts and Computer Simulations: a Good-Looking Triad	p. 211
From Life Event Analysis to Life Course Analysis	p. 237
Simulating Cooperation and Competition: Present State and Future Objectives	p. 264
Understanding Social Dynamics: The Cellular Automata Approach	p. 282
Spatial Evolution of Automata in the Prisoner's Dilemma	p. 307
Simulating the Social Context of Human Choice	p. 359
Simulating Societies using Distributed Artificial Intelligence	p. 381
Simulating Multi-Agent Interdependencies. A Two-Way Approach to the Micro-Macro Link	p. 394
Artificial Intelligence Modelling: Data Driven and Theory Driven Approaches	p. 416
Object-Oriented and Agent-Oriented Simulation: Implications for Social Science Application	p. 432
Simulation as a Research Strategy	p. 448
Environments and Languages to Support Social Simulation (Summary of an Informal Discussion)	p. 457
Computer Simulation and Social Sciences: On the Future of a Difficult Relation (Summary of an Informal Discussion)	p. 459
Author Index	p. 461
Subject Index	p. 469
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.