Microsimulation

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Microsimulation is a research area in applied econometrics. It tries to simulate the behaviour of individuals over time. Microsimulation can either be dynamic or static. If it is dynamic the behaviour of people changes over time, whereas in the static case a constant behaviour is assumed. There are several microsimulation models for taxation, pension etc. run by governmental bodies or academics.

Microsimulation is also a term used in traffic modelling and is typified by software packages such as CORSIM, Cube Dynasim, Paramics, Vissim, Simtraffic,and Aimsun. Traffic microsimulation models simulate the behaviour of individual vehicles within a predefined road network and are used to predict the likely impact of changes in traffic patterns resulting from proposed commercial developments or road schemes.