Agent Based Simulation for the Study of Complex Social Systems

n this paper we argue how agent based simulation constitutes a new paradigm for the study and characterization of complex social systems. There is a growing interest among computer scientists in developing shells and specialized software for social scientists. We summarize the main features of some of these tools, and in particular, the usability of INGENIAS, a multi-agent system development framework, that combines graphical modeling and code generator facilities to provide the source for simulations