ABSTRACT
The methods covered in this chapter are used to investigate the micromacro relations in complex systems. In Chapter 3, I noted that the “micromacro problem” (or the “agent-structure problem”) has been a central problem in sociology, economics, and political science for decades. I also noted that the roots of the problem can be traced farther back to the philosophies of Hobbes, Smith, Locke, Rousseau, and Mill in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In public policy, institutional rational choice theory and advocacy coalition framework, each its own way, conceptualize the relations between micro-level processes (i.e., individual and group behaviors) and macro-level (collective) policy processes and outcomes.
