A causal-loop diagram (CLD) expresses causal relationships between the components that configure systems. It is used in system dynamics for modeling causal relationships between the components.
A CLD is composed of system components and arrows that indicate the causal relationships between components. There are two types of arrows: one that shows a positive correlation between components, whereby one component increases (or decreases) when a related component increases (or decreases); and one that shows a negative correlation between components, whereby one component increases (decreases) when its related component decreases (increases).
Since even events whose effects are only shown after a long time can be expressed, it is suitable for modeling social changes with the passage of time.
