Ryan Zamani

I.  Title of the Project: Modeling of Economic Systems using Netlogo

II. Problem Statement. Using NetLogo, to model the economy of a nation by 
	controlling the distribution of resources and the amount the government takes back as taxes. 
	If possible, other aspects of government and economy would also be added.

III.Purpose. This project uses modelling to illustrate economic principles and ideas. 
	 It is important in this post-Cold War era as many previously socialistic countries are
	 liberalizing and the effects these reforms will have on countries is worth looking into.
	 This is a good match for the systems lab as there are the tools here to actually design
	 and simulate different systems.  The result can be compare to previous data and could be used
	 to argue for or against the effectiveness reforms bring to countries. 
		

IV. Scope of Study.  Proficency in NetLogo (or another modelling language)
	will be initially necessary to get a system up and running, but
	also complete knowledge how economic systems are regulated, and 
	how countries differ in this field.  Relationships between people
	and government (variables such as tax rate and distribution of available
	resources) will factor into my simulation, but due to complexities involving
	interactions between other societies, the scope of the project will likely remain
	closed within its own environment (or country). 


V.  Background and review of current literature/research in this area. 
        In an ideal situation, a capitalist society would provide a linear curve 
	of wealth distribution while a purely communist society would provide a 
	equal distribution of wealth.  In all real world system, neither has been 
	achieved, but some have tended toward capitalism while others toward more 
	socialistic tendancies.  I have completed a couse on introductory economics,
	within my text there were examples of wealth distribution curves under 
	different economic systems.  My goal would be to change this such that 
	variables can be changed to reflect different countries methods of taxation and regulation.


VI.   Procedure and Methodology.
	My first priority would be to learn Netlogo and implement a design
	for my "society."  One a shell version of my model is functional,
	my next priority would be to research and implement variables and 
	restrictions on my model which would act as the government entity.
	As these controls are implemented, I will further try and hone them
	to represent different economic systems and try to emulate actual systems
	based on data culled from sources on the internet.
	I will use the Netlogo online tutorial to learn Netlogo, and research
	economic ideas using the introductory economics textbook.  Error
	analysis can be judged on actual past economic data.  

                            
VII.    Expected Results & Value to Others
    	In my project I hope to examine the advantages and disadvantages
	of economic freedoms and the differences in real world countries 
	economic systems in comparison to percieved wealth or opinion.
	By simulating the effects of certain policies, researchers and
	policymakers could simulate to some degree what proposed policy
	and legislation would have on their systems.  The time frame for 
	this project is likely a number of months, most of the time learning
	and composing in Netlogo, with implementing economic variables and data
	taking less time.  I hope to list all needed tasks and work in a task
	chart.