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Analytical Family DemographyAgent-Based Modeling of Family Formation and Dissolution

Analytical Family Demography: Agent-Based Modeling of Family Formation and Dissolution [Patterns of family formation and dissolution are typically assumed to derive from an interplay between the structure of the marriage market and people’s partner preferences. One challenge that family researchers often face is that they have no direct measures of the preferences that have guided the partnering decisions that underlie observed family patterns. This is particularly the case when the interest is in long-term changes that have started before survey data about such preferences became available. This chapter introduces agent-based computational (ABC) modeling as a way to deal with this challenge. In ABC modeling, researchers make explicit assumptions about the constraints and preferences that guide people’s partnering decisions. These assumptions are then translated into formal models that are submitted to computational simulations of familial behavior in potentially large and heterogeneous populations, along with relevant and available empirical information. The results of these simulations make it possible to (1) assess whether a given set of preferences may have plausibly been involved in generating observed familial behavior given the constraints that people face and (2) to assess whether very different sets of preferences may generate similar patterns. We illustrate these capabilities of ABC modeling with three examples from our own research in the areas of assortative mating and divorce.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Analytical Family DemographyAgent-Based Modeling of Family Formation and Dissolution

Part of the The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis Book Series (volume 47)
Editors: Schoen, Robert
Grow, André; Van Bavel, Jan
Analytical Family Demography — Sep 13, 2018
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References (94)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019
ISBN
978-3-319-93226-2
Pages
125 –156
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-93227-9_6
Publisher site
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Abstract

[Patterns of family formation and dissolution are typically assumed to derive from an interplay between the structure of the marriage market and people’s partner preferences. One challenge that family researchers often face is that they have no direct measures of the preferences that have guided the partnering decisions that underlie observed family patterns. This is particularly the case when the interest is in long-term changes that have started before survey data about such preferences became available. This chapter introduces agent-based computational (ABC) modeling as a way to deal with this challenge. In ABC modeling, researchers make explicit assumptions about the constraints and preferences that guide people’s partnering decisions. These assumptions are then translated into formal models that are submitted to computational simulations of familial behavior in potentially large and heterogeneous populations, along with relevant and available empirical information. The results of these simulations make it possible to (1) assess whether a given set of preferences may have plausibly been involved in generating observed familial behavior given the constraints that people face and (2) to assess whether very different sets of preferences may generate similar patterns. We illustrate these capabilities of ABC modeling with three examples from our own research in the areas of assortative mating and divorce.]

Published: Sep 13, 2018

Keywords: Agent-based modeling; Marriage markets; Partner preferences; Assortative mating; Divorce

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