SYSTEM DYNAMICS : SYSTEMIC FEEDBACK MODELING FOR POLICY ANALYSIS

The world is facing a wide range of increasingly complex, dynamic problems in the public and private arenas alike. System dynamics discipline is an attempt to address such dynamic, long-term policy problems. Applications cover a very wide spectrum, including national economic problems, supply chains, project management, educational problems, energy systems, sustainable development, politics, psychology, medical sciences, health care, and many other areas. This article provides a comprehensive overview of system dynamics methodology, including its conceptual/philosophical framework, as well as the technical aspects of modeling and analysis. The article frequently refers to other articles in the same Theme as appropriate. Today, interest in system dynamics and related systemic disciplines is growing very fast. System dynamics can address the fundamental structural causes of the long-term dynamic contemporary socio-economic problems. Its “systems” perspective challenges the barriers that separate disciplines. The interdisciplinary and systemic approach of system dynamics could be critical in dealing with the increasingly complex problems of our modern world in this new century.