Axel Leijonhufvud’s ways to Macroeconomic Agent-Based Models
Abstract
Macroeconomic Agent-based Models (MABM) have flourished in Macro since the 2008 crisis. They stand as an alternative to the shortcomings of the DSGE models in many regards. In particular, they are based on alternative microfoundations. The opposition MABM/DSGE reopens thus the search for ‘sound’ microfoundations, which was raging in Macro during the 1970s and 1980s. In this paper, we argue that MABM is a late offspring of this early discussion. They came to embody an alternative microfoundational program, whose historical origins and theoretical foundations can be traced through Axel Leijonhufvud’s long and tortuous intellectual path in Macro.