An Agent-Based Model of Consumer Behavior Based on the BDI Architecture and Neoclassical Theory

Abstract

Agent-based models of consumer behavior open new possibilities in terms of the degree of realism and complexity of the simulation of markets. This technique brings several advantages over the traditional modeling approaches. This follows from the agent-based approach allowing the explicit modeling of the micro levels of intricacy of a market while enabling the emergence of the macro levels of market complexity. We propose an agent-based model of consumer behavior based on the Beliefs, Desires and Intentions (BDI) architecture and the neoclassical theory of utility maximization. The model allows simulating a dynamic environment of heterogeneous deliberative consumers. We show that the model can straightforwardly simulate different types of markets and economic phenomena such as price, income, substitution and complementary effects.