Spatial agent-based modeling of household and firm location with endogenous transport costs

The paper describes a spatial economic agent-based model (ABM), consistent with the principles of new economic geography (NEG), which allows the discrete-time evolutionary simulation of complex interactions of household and firm location choices. In contrast with the current ABM approaches, it considers a multi-regional (multi-urban) setting to enable a more realistic representation of decisions related to commuting, migration and firm (re) location. The model allows simulating spatially differentiated, multi-commodity markets for land and labor in a system of cities and the behavior of profit-maximizing firms with multi-regional asset investment decisions, incorporating endogenous transport costs with congestion effects. It also accounts for the impact of agglomeration forces on industrial location choices and the formation of urban development patterns. The conceptual framework and main components of the spatial ABM are presented and several implementation issues are discussed with regard to possible case-specific applications and policy scenarios.