Is an economy complex or just complicated?

Abstract

The study introduces concepts of Complexity Science and Agent Based Modelling as a viable methodology in the study of economic phenomena. The qualitatively dynamic nature of an economy is singled out as a key phenomenon to be investigated. A new model, the Active-Passive Agent Based Model is then built from scratch upon a series of axiomatic statements to construct an artificial economy allowing people and goods to interact. A simulation run of twenty iterations involving 27 agents and 100 goods is computed manually. The result of the simulation run fails to result in persistent qualitative dynamics in the artificial economy but the Active-Passive Agent Based Model is nevertheless shown to be a valuable contribution worth developing further