Agent-based simulation models are increasingly adopted as research tool in economics and other social sciences. Along with the several avenues that these models open for research, are the difficulties related to programming, following a robust methodological protocol and properly communicate the model and results. The course will provide students with the necessary skills to design, implement, and analyse robust agent based models.
This is a week-long full-time intensive course to teach PhD and young scholars how implement and best exploit agent-based simulation models in Economics for research purposes. It will provide students with both the technical and methodological skills required to successfully develop and analyse simulation models in a research project, such as a PhD or a paper.

The course will alternate lectures and exercises carried out by the students, under the supervision of the staff. The course provides guidance on all the steps a researcher needs to follow to design and use an agent-based simulation model. Students will be encouraged to work on their own research project and develop parts of an original simulation model.
Participants will learn how to build economic models using the simulation platform Laboratory for Simulation and Development - LSD ( www.labsimdev.org and https://github.com/marcov64/Lsd ).

The summer school is addressed to highly motivated graduate and PhD students as well as researchers and experienced modelers interested in computational social sciences.

Economic development is a complex phenomenon, involving heterogeneous agents, continuous innovations and structural changes. Understanding the unbalances and discontinuities in the process of economic development requires tools and thinking suited to deal with complex systems.
With the advances in computer science, several micro and macro models representing the economy as a complex system have emerged.
Agent-based models are becoming an essential tool to study complex systems at different levels of aggregation.

• Prof. Marco Valente (University of L’Aquila)
• Dr. Tommaso Ciarli (University of Sussex)
• Prof. João Basilio Pereima (UFPR)
• Prof. Marcelo Pereira (UNICAMP)
• Dr. Francisco Gabardo (UFPR)
• Mr. Danilo Spinola (UNU-MERIT)

Application Procedure
Application deadline is 31-October 2018.
Selection of applicants will be made on:
• CV,
• Motivation letter (max 2 pages) detailing the interest of the candidate,
• Where available, the model they would be interested in developing (max 1 page),
• Where needed, motivation for funding.
Applicants should fill the on-line form and upload relevant material at the following link:
https://goo.gl/forms/TeMy6ZMQ1G8ZzlLw2

Participation in the summer school on Computational Methods and Agent Based Modelling in Economics is free of charge. The number of participants is restricted to 20.

Financial assistance for travel expenses of up to US$ 100,00 (domestic) or US$ 300,00 (international) is available. Assistance is limited and interested students should apply for it when filling in the above form.
All students are responsible for local expenses, such as lunches, dinners and accomodations.

Contact
Coordination
Prof. João Basilio Pereima
Fone 55(041) 3360-4397 joaobasilio@ufpr.br

PPGDE Secretariat
Aurea Koch or Andréa Silva
Fone: 55(041) 3360-4400, 3360-4405 ppgde@ufpr.br