Home Page: Leigh Tesfatsion

Address: Professor of Economics and Mathematics Department of Economics/Heady 375 Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-1070 Tel: (515) 294-7318 FAX: (515) 294-0221 http://www.econ.iastate.edu/tesfatsi/ tesfatsi AT iastate.edu

Primary Research Areas

• Agent-Based Computational Economics (ACE)

• Agent-Based Research on Restructured Electricity Markets

• Learning and Coordination in Decentralized Market Economies

• Learning via Criterion Filtering (temporal-difference/Q-learning)

• Evolution of Interaction Networks (e.g., endogenization of matching functions in labor markets)

• The Trade Network Game Laboratory (endogenous network formation through choice and refusal of game partners)

• Optimality and Efficiency in Open-Ended Dynamic Economies (e.g., First Welfare Theorem for overlapping generations economies)

• Multicriteria Estimation (e.g., time-varying regression via Flexible Least Squares)

• Nonlinear Estimation Via Multicriteria Associative Memories

• Adaptive Computation Methods for Nonlinear Systems (nonlocal sensitivity analysis, eigenvalue/eigenvector tracking, automatic differentiation, adaptive homotopy continuation)

Current Research Topics

• Agent-based computational economics: A constructive approach to economic theory;
• Testing the efficiency and reliability of restructured wholesale power market designs;
• Open-source software for restructured wholesale power markets;
• Analysis of decentralized market economies as distributed local-interaction systems;
• Concentration and market power in dynamic economies.

Course Preparations Online

• Agent-Based Computational Economics (Econ 308). Last Taught: Spring 2008.
• Masters Level Macroeconomic Theory (Econ 502). Last Taught: Fall 2007.
• Money, Banking, and Financial Institutions (Econ 353). Last Taught: Fall 2007.
• RePast: A Software Toolkit for Agent-Based Social Science Modeling, a detailed self-study resource site for local and long-distance learners, continuously maintained.
• VII Trento Summer School: Intensive Course on Agent-Based Computational Economics. July 3-21, 2006.
• Macroeconomic Coordination (Ph.D. Level Course Module) for Econ 606: Advanced Macro Topics. Last Taught: Spring 2004 (first five weeks).
• Macroeconomic Coordination (Masters Level Course Module) for Econ 502: Macroeconomic Theory. Last Taught: Fall 2003 (last five weeks).
• Economic Growth (Ph.D. Level Course Module) for Econ 602: Ph.D. Macroeconomic Theory I. Last Taught: Spring 2003 (first five weeks).
• Ph.D. Macroeconomic Theory II (Econ 604). Last Taught: Spring 1997.
• Intermediate Macroeconomics (Econ 302). Last Taught: Fall 1996.
• Ph.D. Financial Markets and Monetary Economics (Econ 654). Last Taught: Spring 1996.

Open-Source Software Releases

• AMES Market Package (Java): Agent-Based Modeling of Electricity Systems (homepage)
• DCOPFJ (Java): A DC Optimal Power Flow Solver (homepage)
• TNGLab (C++/VB): Trade Network Game Laboratory (homepage)
• FLS (Fortran): Flexible Least Squares for Time-Varying Linear Regression (homepage)
• GFLS (Fortran): Generalized Flexible Least Squares for Approximately Linear Systems (homepage)
• MAM (Fortran): Multicriteria Associative Memories for Nonlinear Estimation (homepage)
• NASA (Fortran): Nonlocal Automated Sensitivity Analysis (homepage)

General Resource Websites Maintained

• On-Line Guide for Newcomers to Agent-Based Modeling
  in the Social Sciences (R. Axelrod and L. Tesfatsion)
• Agent-Based Computational Economics
• Formation of Economic and Social Networks
• Open-Source Software for Electricity Market Research, Teaching, and Training
• General Resources on Electricity Restructuring
• General Resources for Macro and Financial Economics

Additional Information

• Short bio (html)

• Abbreviated Vita (html) with annotated research paper links and open-source software downloads (AMES Market package, DCOPFJ package for DC-OPF, TNGLab, TNG/SimBioSys, FLS, GFLS, MAM, and NASA).

• Complete Vita (pdf,155K)