The relatively new scientific field of economic agent-based systems is a promising, but yet not completely developed area of economics, at the frontier to business administration, computer sciences, and the social sciences. This book follows a rather interdisciplinary approach while maintaining a focus on the economic dimension of agent-based models. In contrast to other literature in this field, this book aims at developing a framework for modelling an economic system in the sense of a total model of the economy. The design and implementation of the agent-based framework AS1 are described in detail. Some sample applications, such as an analysis of the effects of the presence of different research institutes providing alternative inconsistent forecasts for the private agents, provide an overview of the strengths of an agent-based economic model. This 2nd edition is a reprint of the original Edition (from 2006).