Speakers: Camelia Delcea & Liviu-Adrian Coftas
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Date: December 4, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: Room A5, Villa Cambiaso

This presentation introduces Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) as a modern and flexible computational
approach for analyzing complex economic and social systems. ABM differs from traditional modeling
by focusing on individual agents—autonomous entities with their own characteristics, decision rules,
and behaviors—whose interactions generate emergent system-wide outcomes. The presentation
outlines the fundamental properties of agents, such as autonomy, social ability, responsiveness,
proactiveness, adaptability, and bounded rationality, showing how these features allow ABM to
better reflect real-world economic behavior. A methodological overview describes the main stages
of developing an agent-based model: defining agents and their environment, establishing behavioral
rules, implementing models using platforms such as NetLogo, and conducting simulations to
observe dynamic patterns. Through this process, ABM enables experimentation with scenarios that
are difficult to capture using conventional analytical tools. Several practical examples demonstrate
ABM’s versatility, including applications in transportation (railway capacity, airplane boarding),
evacuation and safety modeling, warehouse logistics, and financial decision-making. These cases
highlight ABM’s capacity to test strategies, evaluate policies, and uncover non-linear effects arising
from agent interactions. Overall, the presentation emphasizes the value of ABM for researchers and
policymakers seeking to understand systems where heterogeneity, interaction, and emergent
behavior play a central role.