Policy and Complex Systems - Volume 2 Number 1 - Spring 2015
An Agent-Based Simulation of the Swiss Labour Market : An Alternative for Policy
Moreno Baruffini A
Active Labour Market Policies ( ALMPs ) are generally analysed in the context of a macroeconomic approach or within a micro-econometric model . A critique of the usual economic analysis of labour markets states , however , that a standard economic approach does not take into account the role of complexity in the labour process .
The purpose of this paper is therefore to advance theoretical understanding of the matching process and its dynamics , focusing on an analysis at the regional level . Following an agent-based models ( ABMs ) approach and concentrating on the interactions between economic agents , we propose a model that describes the dynamic matching between labour supply and demand and how it is affected by specific changes in policy and social parameters . The model is still experimental and the definition of the initial conditions is very preliminary but it already allows to approximate quite a number of stylized features of a regional labour market . The model is programmed into NetLogo , a program specifically designed to implement agent-based modelling .
Keywords : labour market policy evaluation , agent-based computational model
1 - Introduction
Labor policies include measures that ,
in addition to acting directly on the labor market , may also refer to individuals . They aim at facilitating the matching of supply and demand and at improving the access to employment for the disadvantaged .
In this sense , a first definition ( Salesi , Piras , & Poggiu , 2004 ) can describe labor market policies as public interventions in the labor market addressed to reach its efficient functioning and to correct imbalances . A simple classification can divide labor policies into two broad categories :
( a ) passive policies , implemented to alleviate the discomfort created by unemployment ( unemployment benefits , early retirement , etc .); ( b ) active policies , defined to affect the employment opportunities of individuals directly .
A
Institute for Economic Research ( IRE ), University of Lugano 10.18278 / jpcs . 2.1.4
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