Publications and Working Papers
The faculty of the MIT System Dynamics group research how modeling and simulations can be applied to business, economics, decision decision-making, organizational sciences, policy-making and legislation, social sciences, and system sciences. Below are samples of their research.
For more publications, please visit our collections on the Social Science Research Network and MIT’s DSpace. You can also subscribe to our Faculty Publications RSS Feed
Select Publications and Working Papers
"Effectiveness of a Participatory Voice Intervention on Psychological Well-Being Among Warehouse Workers: Results From the Fulfillment Center Intervention Study, United States, 2021‒2023."
Siebach, Kirsten F., Yaminette Diaz-Linhart, Laura Kubzansky, Lisa Berkman, Molin Wang, Lin Ge, Alexander Kowalski, Hazhir Rahmandad, and Erin L. Kelly. American Journal of Public Health. Forthcoming.
There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work.
Repenning, Nelson P. and Donald C. Kieffer. Basic Venture, Forthcoming.
"A Generative Model of Function Growth Explains Hidden Self-Similarities Across Biological and Social Systems."
Holehouse, James, S. Redner, Vicky Chuqiao Yang, P.L. Krapivsky, Jose Ignacio Arroyo, Geoffrey B West, Chris Kempes, and Hyejin Youn, Working Paper. September 2025.
"Interactive Role-play with Climate Policy Simulation can Motivate Evidence-based Climate Action."
Rooney-Varga, Juliette N., Rachel L. Coleman, Andrew P. Jones, Florian Kapmeier, Peyton Newsome, Krystal Noiseux, Bethany Patten, Kenneth Rath, and John D. Sterman. Communications Earth & Environment Vol. 6, No. 769 (2025).
"A First-Principles Mathematical Model Integrates the Disparate Timescales of Human Learning."
Lu, Mingzhen, Tyler Marghetis, and Vicky Chuqiao Yang. npj Complex Vol. 2, No. 15 (2025).
"Synthesis of Innovation and Obsolescence."
Lee, Edward D., Christopher P. Kempes, ... and Vicky Chuqiao Yang et al., Working Paper. May 2025.
"The Power of Fragmented Elites: The Role of Inadvertent Robust Action."
Mizruchi, Mark S. and Johan S.G. Chu. Theory and Society Vol. 54, (2025): 475-506.
"Beyond Least Squares: Estimation of Dynamic Models With Alternative Likelihoods and Kalman Filtering."
Li, Tianyi, Hazhir Rahmandad, and John D. Sterman. System Dynamics Review Vol. 41, No. 2 (2025): e70004.
"Identifying Delayed Human Response to External Risks: An Econometric Analysis of Mobility Change during a Pandemic."
Zhang, Gaofei, Ann Osi, Navid Ghaffarzadegan, Hazhir Rahmandad, and Ran Xu. BMC Medical Research Methodology Vol. 25, No. 244 (2025).
"Incorporating Deep Learning Into System Dynamics: Amortized Bayesian Inference for Scalable Likelihood-Free Parameter Estimation."
Rahmandad, Hazhir, Ali Akhavan, and Mohammad S. Jalali. System Dynamics Review Vol. 41, No. 1 (2025): e1798.
"How Social Influence Shapes Collective Intelligence in Binary Choices: Reconciling Disparate Findings with a Mathematical Model."
Topic: Behavioral Science
Yang, Vicky Chuqiao and Levi Grenier, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7181-24. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, December 2024.
Keywords: Collective Intelligence, Mathematical Model, System Dynamics, Human Participant Experiments
"Inter-city Firm Connections and the Scaling of Urban Economic Indicators."
Yang, Vicky Chuqiao, Jacob J. Jackson, and Christopher P. Kempes. PNAS Nexus Vol. 3, No. 11 (2024). SSRN.
"Efficacy of a Standardized Process in Optimizing Appropriate Use of Progressive Care Unit Beds in a Tertiary Care Facility."
Stempek, Susan B., Michael S. Rosenblatt, Nelson Repenning, John D. Sterman, Janice R. Morrissette, Susan E. Flanagan, Lindsey Sallese, Yuxiu Lei, and Timothy N. Liesching. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing Vol. 43, No. 5 (2024): 259-265.
"Regulatory Functions from Cells to Society."
Topic: Data
Yang, Vicky Chuqiao, Christopher P. Kempes, S. Redner, Geoffrey B. West, and Hyejin Youn, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7179-24. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, September 2024. arXiv Preprint.
Keywords: Complex Systems, Scaling Laws, Administrative Burden
"What Leads to Administrative Bloat? Modeling the Dynamics of Administrative Cost and Waste."
Topic: Behavioral Science
Yang, Vicky Chuqiao and Levi Grenier, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7180-24. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, May 2024.
Keywords: Administrative Bloat, Bureaucracy, System Dynamics, Theoratical Model