Development of an agent-based model and its application to the estimation of global carbon emissions

Abstract

With the purpose of studying the influence of population dynamics and economic growth on energy consumption and carbon emissions, an endogenous economic growth model is proposed incorporating physical and human capital and using an Agent-Based Model. The model can test different development strategies by identifying the key factors exist-ing at the agent level that may speed up or slow down a given path, and therefore it is an interesting tool to develop and to test mitigation and/or adaptation measures. Favorable scenarios may be possible in societies that encourage invest-ment in human capital through education and technological development, provided that this is accompanied by a reduc-tion in consumption rates and the creation of physical capital by the population. Moreover, this model shows that hu-man capital resulting from education not only raises productivity, but also plays a key role in the development and adoption of new technologies that drive long-term growth.