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Modeling of Socio-Economic Systems

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Social Self-Organization

Part of the book series: Understanding Complex Systems ((UCS))

Abstract

The modeling of complex systems such as ecological or socio-economic systems can be very challenging. Although various modeling approaches exist, they are generally not compatible and mutually consistent, and empirical data often do not allow one to decide what model is the right one, the best one, or most appropriate one. Moreover, as the recent financial and economic crisis shows, relying on a single, idealized model can be very costly. This contribution tries to shed new light on problems that arise when complex systems are modeled. While the arguments can be transferred to many different systems, the related scientific challenges are illustrated for social, economic, and traffic systems. The contribution discusses issues that are sometimes overlooked and tries to overcome some frequent misunderstandings and controversies of the past. At the same time, it is highlighted how some long-standing scientific puzzles may be solved by considering non-linear models of heterogeneous agents with spatio-temporal interactions. As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that a paradigm shift towards a pluralistic or possibilistic modeling approach, which integrates multiple world views, is overdue. In this connection, it is argued that it can be useful to combine many different approaches to obtain a good picture of reality, even though they may be inconsistent. Finally, it is identified what would be profitable areas of collaboration between the socio-economic, natural, and engineering sciences.

This chapter reprints a previous publication to be cited as: D. Helbing, Pluralistic Modeling of Complex System. Science and Culture 76(9/10), 399–417 (2010).

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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful for support by the ETH Competence Center “Coping with Crises in Complex Socio-Economic Systems” (CCSS) through ETH Research Grant CH1-01 08-2 and by the Future and Emerging Technologies programme FP7-COSI-ICT of the European Commission through the project Visioneer (grant no.: 248438).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CLU E1, ETH Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 50, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Dirk Helbing (Chair of Sociology, in particular of Modeling and Simulation)

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  1. Dirk Helbing
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  1. Lehrstuhl Soziologie, CLU E1, ETH Zürich, Clausiusstr. 50, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland

    Dirk Helbing

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Helbing, D. (2012). Modeling of Socio-Economic Systems. In: Helbing, D. (eds) Social Self-Organization. Understanding Complex Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24004-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24004-1_1

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