Complex Systems and Agent Based Models: Revealing Mechanisms Underlying Emergent Phenomena

This book deals with the general field of complex adaptive systems, especially the identification of generic mechanism underlying emergent phenomena. Although the context of this work is game theory, it brings in a new focus and dynamical perspective on line with the most recent concepts and directions of interdisciplinar research shaping the new field of agent-based models. The book gives a wide introduction to the minority games. A particularly interesting specific topic is the introduction of genetic algorithms in the adaptation of strategies in the minority game. This leads to unexpected results and opens the way for the generalized use of generic algorithms in adaptive game theory. A second interesting topic is the assessment of the role of different local mechanisms of interactions in the emergence of cooperative behavior in spatial games. The book gives broad perspective on the subject and identifies the open questions, their interest and the possible alternatives to address them. It is also supported by numerous refereed publications of high international standards.

Understanding the behaviour of complex systems is a central problem in several fields of contemporary research. This book introduces agent based modelling approaches for describing and analysing such systems.