Was Hayek an Ace?

Nicolaas J. Vriend ()

No 403, Working Papers from Queen Mary, University of London, Department of Economics

Abstract: In order to address the question whether Hayek might have been an Agent-based Computational Economist (ACE) avant-la-lettre, we consider an ACE model concerning the phenomenon of information contagion. Alongside increasing returns, network externalities, and information cascades, information contagion has been presented in the literature as an explanation for particular patterns of macrobehavior that may seem at odds with the underlying micromotives. But whereas these other explanations have been shown to have a proper microfoundation, information contagion has remained a phenomenon that seemed to occur only when certain ad hoc rules of thumb for individual behavior are assumed. We show how information-contagious behavior can emerge in a coevolutionary process of interacting adaptive agents, how this is related to various Hayekian themes, and how ACE research in general is an application of Hayek's methodological insights.

Keywords: Hayek; Agent-based Computational Economics; Decentralized interaction; Distributed knowledge; Reinforcement learning; Information aggregation; Self-organization; Spontaneous order; Methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B21 B31 B41 D11 D83 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp, nep-evo, nep-hpe and nep-mic
Date: 1999-05

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Related works:
Working Paper: WAS HAYEK AN ACE? (2000)
Journal Article: Was Hayek an Ace? (2002)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:wp403

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