ABM applied to socio-economic systems: opinion evolution, industry dynamics, spatial models of voting, diffusion of innovations, macroeconomic with microfoundations, etc.

Andrew Bell (Ph.D. 2010, Michigan) was a Research Fellow in the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC. His current research portfolio focuses on the use of field instruments – such as discrete choice experiments, framed field experiments, randomized control trials – to inform behavior in agent-based models of coupled human-natural systems. Prior to this post, Andrew was a post-doctoral research fellow at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he focused on developing applications for paleo-climate histories.

Andrew Crooks is an Associate Professor with a joint appointment between the Computational Social Science Program within the Department of Computational and Data Sciences and the Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, which are part of the College of Science at George Mason University. His areas of expertise specifically relate to integrating agent-based modeling (ABM) and geographic information systems (GIS) to explore human behavior. Moreover, his research focuses on exploring and understanding the natural and socio-economic environments specifically urban areas using GIS, spatial analysis, social network analysis (SNA), Web 2.0 technologies and ABM methodologies.

Andrew J. Collins, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Old Dominion University in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. He has a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the University of Southampton, and his undergraduate degree in Mathematics was from the University of Oxford. He has published over 80 peer-review articles. He has been the Principal Investigator on projects funded to the amount of approximately $5 million. Dr. Collins has developed several research simulations including an award-winning investigation into the foreclosure contagion that incorporated social networks.

I am currently enrolled as a graduate student at UC3M, working towards a MS degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics. Upon completing my current program, my intention is to further my education in Applied Economics, with a specific focus on the intersection of Climate and Development Economics.

My research pursuits center around investigating the impacts of climate change on developing nations. Additionally, I am interested in studying the repercussions of fast fashion consumption, examining its effects on working conditions, the environment, and the overall well-being of individuals in the countries where these garments are manufactured. In my ongoing master’s thesis, I employ Agent-Based Modeling to simulate the attitudes of individual consumers towards fast fashion. The model captures behavioral shifts influenced by peers, social media, and governmental factors. This research aligns with my broader interests in comprehending public perspectives on global matters, underscoring the crucial influence of individual attitudes in confronting and finding solutions to these challenges.