Microsimulation is widely used in economics to analyse the distributional effects of policy and the behavioural responses of heterogeneous agents. In agricultural economics literature, farm-level simulation and bioeconomic models have developed in parallel with farm level microsimulation. These models operate at different scales but combine biological processes with economic and policy factors. The modelling literature provides little systematic assessment of how these approaches address economic and environmental outcomes in pasture-based agricultural systems. This paper addresses the gap through a systematic review of 173 peer-reviewed modelling studies published between 2000 and 2024. The analysis traces temporal and geographical trends in the literature, reviews methodological choices, and assesses how economic and environmental outcomes are modelled. The results shows that farm-level simulation approaches account for largest share of the literature, followed by optimisation models, while microsimulation and macro-scale approaches are less common. Most of the studies were at the farm-level and focus mainly on environmental outcomes, particularly land use and greenhouse gas emissions. Policy modelling concentrated on conventional production systems, while organic and low-input systems are underrepresented. Approximately half of the reviewed studies originate from Europe, and macro-level approaches account for less than 10% in literature. The literature exhibits a persistent pattern: models that handle farm-level heterogeneity seldom connect to sectoral outcomes, while those designed for aggregation are seldom applied to pasture-based systems. This limits the evidence base for policies that require both micro-level behavioural responses and macro-level assessment. Closing this gap will require integrated frameworks that couple farm-scale representation with sectoral or economy-wide models.
Afeku et al. (Tue,) studied this question.