From axiomatic rationality to ecological rationality: Elements for building a research agenda in economic simulation

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a research agenda in economic computer simulation for the notion of ecological rationality. It starts with the criticism of axiomatic rationality in economics, discussing its ineffectiveness for the treatment of real decision processes. It is shown that the criticism of axiomatic rationality made by Herbert Simon and his notion of Procedural Rationality allowed the development of a research program that systematically incorporates the treatment of heuristics and can consistently integrate the observation of the real behavior of agents. This research program was developed by Gerd Gigerenzer, along with the notion of Ecological Rationality. Therefore, this work proposes the development of a research agenda in computational economic simulation to obtain a set of empirical results that can support the advancement of the theory.