Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/220291 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper No. 203
Publisher: 
Institute for Applied Economic Research (ipea), Brasília
Abstract: 
This text was written as part of the project Modelling of Complex Systems for Public Policy. It reviews the classical authors who jointly contributed to establish the elements of what could constitute a "science of complexity". Based on the original writings of these authors, the text discusses the central concepts of complex systems: i) the interaction between (homogeneous or heterogeneous) agents and the environment; ii) emergence and self-organization; iii) the importance of nonlinearity and scales; iv) the determinism of rules; v) the emphasis on dynamics and feedback; and vi) the notions of adaptation, learning and evolution. Finally, contemporary criticisms are presented. They suggest that the arguments of complex systems do not support the epistemological establishment of a supposedly new science, but they do not reject the advances proposed by complexity studies.
Subjects: 
complexity
emergence
dynamical systems
non-linearity
cellular automata
modelling
information theory
neural networks
evolution
JEL: 
A31
B15
C63
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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