a Swarm Web Interface for Experimental Economics
Papers & guides
- "SWIEE - a Swarm Interface for Experimental Economics" by Riccardo Boero, forthcoming in AGENT-BASED METHODS IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCE: Simulations in Swarm edited by Francesco Luna and Alessandro Perrone. An introductory paper to the main features of SWIEE.
- "SWIEE, an introduction and some examples", a presentation made at the 4th CEEL Workshop in Grenoble, 13-14 September 2001.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why the SWIEE project?
Because there are a lot of software toolkits to make economic experiments, but generally they are closed, proprietary and specific to a subject (software for just Game Theory, for just Industrial Organizations, etc...). Moreover SWIEE lets you build experiments with both human and artificial agents (simulative experiments). SWIEE it is based on a tool, Swarm, useful to make Agent Based Models, thus you can learn only a tool with which you can make both experiments and ABMs.
Why would I want to let humans interact in an Agent Based Model?
Because the presence of artificial agents can make the experimental world more realistic, it lets to study better organizations and because it can be useful to test proposed policy solutions.
How it works?
An Agent Based Model runs on a server, humans interact with it via a Java applet running on a web browser on a computer connected to a TCP/IP network. Humans act like a Rule Master for agents in ABM: agents make what humans tell them to do.
What I need?
You need a server with installed Swarm, JDK, Apache (or another web server). Then, players need a computer linked to the server (trough a TCP/IP network) and with a web browser.
Are there some examples?
In the "Download" section of the site you can download some codes of example. In the "Project" section you can find an on line tutorial to help you developing your own experiment.
Mailing list
To receive support on applications of the SWIEE project, you can subscribe to the help mailing list sending a message to majordomo@swiee.econ.unito.it with the words "subscribe swieesupport" in the body. You can also browse the archive of this mailing list.
To receive news on upgrades of the SWIEE project, you can subscribe the announcement mailing list sending a message to majordomo@swiee.econ.unito.it with the words "subscribe swieenews" in the body. You can also browse the archive of this mailing list.