Emergence of cooperation in a model agricultural production
The emergence of cooperation in a model for an artificial farming society is studied here by the use of an agent-based model. The system is composed of an ensemble of N agents assumed to have equal access to water, whose availability fluctuates randomly in time. Each agent makes two decisions every...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Croatian Interdisciplinary Society
2010-07-01
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| Series: | Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://indecs.eu/2010/indecs2010-pp1-12.pdf |
| Summary: | The emergence of cooperation in a model for an artificial farming society is studied here by the use of an agent-based model. The system is composed of an ensemble of N agents assumed to have equal access to water, whose availability fluctuates randomly in time. Each agent makes two decisions every sowing season regarding: (1) the type of crop mix to plant and (2) whether s/he joins, or not, a cooperative group that allocates water amongst farmers to maximize the production and share revenues equally. Results show that the degree to which farmers choose to cooperate has a strong dependency on the mean water availability. Cooperation seems to emerge as a way of adaptation to uncertain environments by which individual risk is minimized. |
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| ISSN: | 1334-4684 1334-4676 |