Olner, D, Evans, A and Heppenstall, A (2015) An agent model of urban economics: Digging into emergence. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 54. pp. 414-427. ISSN 0198-9715
Abstract
This paper presents an agent-based ‘monocentric’ model: assuming only a fixed location for firms, outcomes closely parallel those found in classical urban economic models, but emerge through ‘bottom-up’ interaction in an agent-based model. Agents make buying and movement decisions based on a set of simple costs they face from their current location. These spatial costs are reduced to two types: the costs of moving people and goods across geographical distances and the costs (and benefits) of ‘being here’ (the effects of being at a particular location such as land costs, amenities or disamenities). Two approaches to land cost are compared: landlords and a ‘density cost’ proxy. Emergent equilibrium outcomes are found to depend on the interaction of externalities and time. These findings are produced by looking at how agents react to changing four types of cost, two spatial and two non-spatial: commuting, wage, good cost and good delivery. The models explore equilibrium outcomes, the effect of changing costs and the impact of heterogeneous agents, before focusing in on one example to find the source of emergence in the externalities of agent choice. The paper finishes by emphasising the importance of thinking about emergence as a tool, not an end in itself.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Spatial economics; Urban economics; Agent-based modelling; Geographical economics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Centre for Spatial Analysis & Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Oct 2016 09:50 |
Last Modified: | 26 Jan 2018 05:34 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2014.12.... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2014.12.003 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:94264 |