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More complex scenarios

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adrianwrigley edited this page Dec 8, 2012 · 9 revisions

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Introduce new features

Once a simple scenario has been demonstrated, more complex features may be introduced, for example:

  • land titles and defence? Implement a land register. Register which the agent which has title to the land.
  • different crops and corresponding climatic zones - places good for potatoes, wheat, grapes
  • exchange of grain for services or other crops
  • other forms of primary production, eg mining fuel, fishing, forestry
A land register is a piece of basic infrastructure with a simple implementation and function. Theoretically, it could be modeled as a service provided by a group of agents within the model working together, this would be impractical without very complex agent models. An alternative direct implementation of the required function is a simple and pragmatic approach.

When an agent dies, their land titles pass to other agents, perhaps through automatic rules to pass to other members of the household, progeny and siblings.

We want to establish and demonstrate the preconditions for a monarchy and landed aristocracy to develop. Such structures developed everywhere that land tenure become transmissible as a private right through the establishment of property titles enforced through a coercive power.

We want to "discover" economic location rent in the form of the real surplus of a location over that at the margin of production.

Introduce basic taxation

For example, a tax on land is virtually ubiquitous in the development of societies. In a simple implementation, tokens issued by an aggregated banking sector are demanded from land title holders, otherwise defence of that title holder's tenure fails. Tax has three parts:

  • A poll tax on all persons
  • A tithe (tenths) of the crop
  • A land tax, fixed on each plot
The tax is paid to persons who are agents of the state, who can cause grief to people.

Want to see those living off the state respond to economic surpluses. If the intrinsic productivity improves, more people can and do become agents of the state. (see Zhou Dynasty of ancient China, lasting three-quarters of a millennium, 1046BC - 256BC) Population naturally bifurcates into peasant producers and powerful consumers.

Once there is a system of taxation, experiments in tax incidence can be conducted.

Introduce productive capital

  • Oxen to facilitate sowing and harvesting
  • Oxen have an owner
Agents have a list of assets. Land titles, Oxen ownership.

Capital functions by taking in a vector of inputs, transforming into a vector of outputs by the application of a process. A bit like a chemical reaction.

  • (Iron, Furnace) -> (magnet)
  • (Air, Natural Gas) -> (Nitrogen, CO2, NH3) (involves the Haber Process)
  • (NH3, HNO3) -> (Fertiliser)
  • (Land, Seed, Labour) -> (Crop) (the basic form of agriculture)
  • (Iron, Labour) -> (Plough) (a basic manufacture/capital production)
  • (Fertiliser, Land, Seed, Oxen) -> (Crop) (a more advanced agriculture)
Can these "equations" be directly entered in a configuration?

Need to know the quantities of each input, the yield of output, and the time involved for the transformation. Processes generally produce waste products, by-products and/or co-products. Products which are not sold may build up or disperse into the environment, potentially giving rise to external costs and/or benefits.

How can we fit economic destruction/coercion into this? (Gun, Labour) -> (Fatal wound)

What do we need to demonstrate the instability of land finance? Basic production. Land titles. Bank credit.

Try to model historic scenarios

Want to be able to load in/configure for things like:

Clone this wiki locally