Autoren von „Econophysics and Physical Economics” sind Peter Richmond, Jürgen Mimkes und Stefan Hutzler. Prof. i. R. Dr. Jürgen Mimkes gehört dem Department Physik der Universität Paderborn an. Das Buch befasst sich mit den komplexen Systemen von Wirtschaft und Finanzwelt aus der Sicht des Physikers. Die sogenannte Ökonophysik“ oder "Wirtschaftsphysik" und ihre Anwendung auf Finanzmärkte hat in den letzten Jahren große Fortschritte gemacht.
Der Leser erhält einen allgemeinen Einblick in der statistische Physik, Wahrscheinlichkeits-theorie und die Verwendung von Korrelationsfunktionen. Die statistische Physik von Boltzmann und Gibbs ist eine der ältesten Disziplinen der Physik und man kann argumentieren, dass es nur aus Zufall zuerst auf Ensembles von Molekülen statt auf soziale Agenten angewendet wurde. Die Autoren zeigen, dass die Theorie direkt auf Wirtschafts-systeme angewendet werden kann. Die notwendigen Werkzeuge der Mathematik werden in einer klaren und präzisen Art und Weise entwickelt und zeigen, wo traditionelle Methoden brechen und wie die Wahrscheinlichkeitsverteilungen und Korrelationsfunktionen mit Hilfe von Hochfrequenzdaten richtig verstanden können.
Die zweite Hälfte des Buches setzt den empirischen Ansatz fort und zeigt, wie in Analogie zur Thermodynamik eine selbstkonsistente Theorie der Makroökonomie entwickelt werden kann. Dies führt zu Produktionsfunktionen wie der Entropie - ein neues Konzept für Ökonomen. Fragen in Bezug auf Nicht-Gleichgewichte bei der Entwicklung und Anwendung dieses Ansatzes auf die Wirtschaft werden mit Superstatistik und adiabatischen Prozessen diskutiert. Die Ideen werden auf Einkommens-und Vermögensverteilungen angewendet, deren Potenzgesetze viele Forscher irritiert haben, seit Pareto sie vor über 100 Jahren entdeckt hat. Dieses Buch nimmt einen pädagogischen Ansatz zu diesen Themen ein und ist für das Bachelor- Abschlussjahr und den Beginn der Graduate oder Post- Doktorandenzeit in Physik und Wirtschaftswissenschaften ausgerichtet. Allerdings könnte auch der erfahrene Forscher viel Interessantes darin finden.
Table of Contents
1: Introduction
2: Reading financial data
3: Basics of probability
4: Time dependent processes and the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation
5: The Langevin approach to modelling Brownian motion
6: The Brownian motion model of asset prices
7: Generalized diffusion processes and the Fokker-Planck equation
8: Derivatives and options
9: Asset fluctuations and scaling
10: Models of asset fluctuations
11: Risk
12: Why markets crash
13: Two non-financial markets
14: An introduction to physical economics
15: Laws of physical economics
16: Markets
17: A simple model of trade
18: Production and economic growth
19: Economics and entropy
20: Approaches to non-equilibrium economics
21: The distribution of wealth in society
22: Conclusions and outlook
About this Book
An understanding of the behaviour of financial assets and the evolution of economies has never been as important as today. This book looks at these complex systems from the perspective of the physicist. So called 'econophysics' and its application to finance has made great strides in recent years. Less emphasis has been placed on the broader subject of macroeconomics and many economics students are still taught traditional neo-classical economics.
The reader is given a general primer in statistical physics, probability theory, and use of correlation functions. Much of the mathematics that is developed is frequently no longer included in undergraduate physics courses. The statistical physics of Boltzmann and Gibbs is one of the oldest disciplines within physics and it can be argued that it was first applied to ensembles of molecules as opposed to being applied to social agents only by way of historical accident. The authors argue by analogy that the theory can be applied directly to economic systems comprising assemblies of interacting agents. The necessary tools and mathematics are developed in a clear and concise manner. The body of work, now termed econophysics, is then developed. The authors show where traditional methods break down and show how the probability distributions and correlation functions can be properly understood using high frequency data. Recent work by the physics community on risk and market crashes are discussed together with new work on betting markets as well as studies of speculative peaks that occur in housing markets.
The second half of the book continues the empirical approach showing how by analogy with thermodynamics, a self-consistent attack can be made on macroeconomics. This leads naturally to economic production functions being equated to entropy functions - a new concept for economists. Issues relating to non-equilibrium naturally arise during the development and application of this approach to economics. These are discussed in the context of superstatistics and adiabatic processes. As a result it does seem ultimately possible to reconcile the approach with non-equilibrium systems, and the ideas are applied to study income and wealth distributions, which with their power law distribution functions have puzzled many researchers ever since Pareto discovered them over 100 years ago. This book takes a pedagogical approach to these topics and is aimed at final year undergraduate and beginning graduate or post-graduate students in physics, economics, and business. However, the experienced researcher and quant should also find much of interest
Reviews
"The authors present a novel approach to modern economic theory informed by empirical observations and ideas from physics, and in particular complex systems. Comprehensive in scope, and written in an engaging style, the text will be essential reading for students and researchers in the field." - Geoff J. Rodgers, Brunel University
"Adapting physics to understand economical problems may help us to develop new financial models. Science can help to change the world, not merely interpret it." - Ian Gibson, MP Norwich North, 1997-2009, Chair of House of Commons Science and Technology Committee 2001-2005, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia 1965 - 97
"This book is the result of a unique joint effort by three very complementary authors. The result of their cooperation is a down to earth and practical text which, at the same time, offers a mathematically sound exposition of how ideas based in physics help our understanding of finance and economic dynamics. It is a significant contribution to the task of introducing new scientific methods, concepts and ideas to the study of economies." - Sorin Solomon, Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"This book discusses intriguing analogies between physical and economical phenomena. In fact, methodologies borrowed from physics were crucial for the development of economical models in the past, e.g. non-equilibrium statistical physics opened the gate for the financial derivative pricing. The book may catalyze a broader discussion among economists and physicists about roots of the current economical crisis and ways the global economy should be stabilized." - Janusz Ho?yst, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
