  While the use of spatial agent-based and individual-based models has
flourished across many scientific disciplines, the complexities these models
generate are often difficult to manage and quantify. This research reduces
population-driven, spatial modeling of individuals to the simplest
configurations and parameters: an equal resource opportunity landscape with
equally capable individuals; and asks the question, "Will valid complex
population and inequality dynamics emerge from this simple economic model?" Two
foraging economies are modeled: subsistence and surplus. The resulting,
emergent population dynamics are characterized by their sensitivities to agent
and landscape parameters. The various steady and oscillating regimes of
single-species population dynamics are generated by appropriate selection of
model growth parameters. These emergent dynamics are shown to be consistent
with the equation-based, continuum modeling of single-species populations in
biology and ecology. The intrinsic growth rates, carry capacities, and delay
parameters of these models are implied for these simple economies. Aggregate
measures of individual distributions are used to understand the sensitivities
to model parameters. New local measures are defined to describe complex
behaviors driven by spatial effects, especially extinctions. This simple
economic model is shown to generate significantly complex population and
inequality dynamics. Model parameters generating the intrinsic growth rate have
strong effects on these dynamics, including large variations in inequality.
Significant inequality effects are shown to be caused by birth costs above and
beyond their contribution to the intrinsic growth rate. The highest levels of
inequality are found during the initial non-equilibrium period and are driven
by factors different than those driving steady state inequality.
