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In this paper, we discuss a scaling approach to business fluctuations. Our starting point consists in recognizing that concepts and methods derived from physics have allowed economists to (re)discover a set of stylized facts which have to be satisfactorily accounted for in their models. Standard macroeconomics, based on a reductionist approach centered on the representative agent, is definitely badly equipped for this task. On the contrary, we show that a simple financial fragility agent-based model, based on complex interactions of heterogeneous agents, is able to replicate a large number of scaling type stylized facts with a remarkable high degree of statistical precision.

In this paper we present the basics of a research program aimed at providing microfoundations to macroeconomic theory on the basis of computational agent-based adaptive descriptions of individual behavior. To exemplify our proposal, a simple prototype model of decentralized multi-market transactions is offered. We show that a very simple agent-based computational laboratory can challenge more structured Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium models in mimicking comovements over the business cycle. Eastern Economic Journal (2008) 34, 441–463. doi:10.1057/eej.2008.27

NutzungsbedingungenThis is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t AbstractWe present an agent-based computational model in which bounded rational firms and workers trade on fully decentralized markets for final goods and labor by means of random matching protocols. The model replicates several macroeconomic phenomena regularly observed in the data, with aggregate features emerging from the localized interactions of individual entities. The model is then used as a computational laboratory to run an experiment on the role of fiscal policy in increasing macroeconomic performance.