Agent-Based Extensions to a Spatial Microsimulation Model of Demographic Change

New technologies and techniques now enable us to construct complex social models with more sophistication. In this paper we introduce an individual-based model, which combines the strengths of both microsimulation models and agent-based model approaches to project the UK population 30 years into the future. The hybrid modelling approach has been adopted to add flexibility and practicality in order to capture individual characteristics, especially in terms of individual movements, interactions and behaviours in the absence of suitable microdata. Such characteristics during the life courses of individuals are modelled through an event-driven model that simulates discrete processes that represent important demographic transitions.