Econophysics & Economics of Games, Social Choices and Quantitative Techniques


Book Description

The combined efforts of the Physicists and the Economists in recent years in analyzing and modelling various dynamic phenomena in monetary and social systems have led to encouraging developments, generally classified under the title of Econophysics. These developments share a common ambition with the already established field of Quantitative Economics. This volume intends to offer the reader a glimpse of these two parallel initiatives by collecting review papers written by well-known experts in the respective research frontiers in one cover. This massive book presents a unique combination of research papers contributed almost equally by Physicists and Economists. Additional contributions from Computer Scientists and Mathematicians are also included in this volume. The book consists of two parts: the first part concentrates on Econophysics problems and the second part stresses on various quantitative issues in Economics. Both parts specialize on frontier problems in Games and Social Choices.







Econophysics and Data Driven Modelling of Market Dynamics


Book Description

This book presents the works and research findings of physicists, economists, mathematicians, statisticians, and financial engineers who have undertaken data-driven modelling of market dynamics and other empirical studies in the field of Econophysics. During recent decades, the financial market landscape has changed dramatically with the deregulation of markets and the growing complexity of products. The ever-increasing speed and decreasing costs of computational power and networks have led to the emergence of huge databases. The availability of these data should permit the development of models that are better founded empirically, and econophysicists have accordingly been advocating that one should rely primarily on the empirical observations in order to construct models and validate them. The recent turmoil in financial markets and the 2008 crash appear to offer a strong rationale for new models and approaches. The Econophysics community accordingly has an important future role to play in market modelling. The Econophys-Kolkata VIII conference proceedings are devoted to the presentation of many such modelling efforts and address recent developments. A number of leading researchers from across the globe report on their recent work, comment on the latest issues, and review the contemporary literature.




Mathematical Modeling of Collective Behavior in Socio-Economic and Life Sciences


Book Description

Using examples from finance and modern warfare to the flocking of birds and the swarming of bacteria, the collected research in this volume demonstrates the common methodological approaches and tools for modeling and simulating collective behavior. The topics presented point toward new and challenging frontiers of applied mathematics, making the volume a useful reference text for applied mathematicians, physicists, biologists, and economists involved in the modeling of socio-economic systems.




The Story of Econophysics


Book Description

This book will appeal to the lay-reader with an interest in the history of what is today termed ‘Econophysics’, looking at various works throughout the ages that have led to the emergence of this field. It begins with a discussion of the philosophers and scientists who have contributed to this discipline, before moving on to considering the contributions of different institutions, books, journals and conferences in nurturing the subject.




Econophysics of Systemic Risk and Network Dynamics


Book Description

The primary goal of the book is to present the ideas and research findings of active researchers such as physicists, economists, mathematicians and financial engineers working in the field of “Econophysics,” who have undertaken the task of modeling and analyzing systemic risk, network dynamics and other topics. Of primary interest in these studies is the aspect of systemic risk, which has long been identified as a potential scenario in which financial institutions trigger a dangerous contagion mechanism, spreading from the financial economy to the real economy. This type of risk, long confined to the monetary market, has spread considerably in the recent past, culminating in the subprime crisis of 2008. As such, understanding and controlling systemic risk has become an extremely important societal and economic challenge. The Econophys-Kolkata VI conference proceedings are dedicated to addressing a number of key issues involved. Several leading researchers in these fields report on their recent work and also review contemporary literature on the subject.




Econophysics of Order-driven Markets


Book Description

The primary goal of the book is to present the ideas and research findings of active researchers from various communities (physicists, economists, mathematicians, financial engineers) working in the field of "Econophysics", who have undertaken the task of modelling and analyzing order-driven markets. Of primary interest in these studies are the mechanisms leading to the statistical regularities ("stylized facts") of price statistics. Results pertaining to other important issues such as market impact, the profitability of trading strategies, or mathematical models for microstructure effects, are also presented. Several leading researchers in these fields report on their recent work and also review the contemporary literature. Some historical perspectives, comments and debates on recent issues in Econophysics research are also included.




Econophysics of the Kolkata Restaurant Problem and Related Games


Book Description

This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to multi-agent, multi-choice repetitive games, such as the Kolkata Restaurant Problem and the Minority Game. It explains how the tangible formulations of these games, using stochastic strategies developed by statistical physicists employing both classical and quantum physics, have led to very efficient solutions to the problems posed. Further, it includes sufficient introductory notes on information-processing strategies employing both classical statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Games of this nature, in which agents are presented with choices, from among which their goal is to make the minority choice, offer effective means of modeling herd behavior and market dynamics and are highly relevant to assessing systemic risk. Accordingly, this book will be of interest to economists, physicists, and computer scientists alike.




Essentials of Econophysics Modelling


Book Description

This book is a course in methods and models rooted in physics and used in modelling economic and social phenomena. It covers the discipline of econophysics, which creates an interface between physics and economics. Besides the main theme, it touches on the theory of complex networks and simulations of social phenomena in general. After a brief historical introduction, the book starts with a list of basic empirical data and proceeds to thorough investigation of mathematical and computer models. Many of the models are based on hypotheses of the behaviour of simplified agents. These comprise strategic thinking, imitation, herding, and the gem of econophysics, the so-called minority game. At the same time, many other models view the economic processes as interactions of inanimate particles. Here, the methods of physics are especially useful. Examples of systems modelled in such a way include books of stock-market orders, and redistribution of wealth among individuals. Network effects are investigated in the interaction of economic agents. The book also describes how to model phenomena like cooperation and emergence of consensus. The book will be of benefit to graduate students and researchers in both Physics and Economics.




Econophysics


Book Description

Filling the gap for an up-to-date textbook in this relatively new interdisciplinary research field, this volume provides readers with a thorough and comprehensive introduction. Based on extensive teaching experience, it includes numerous worked examples and highlights in special biographical boxes some of the most outstanding personalities and their contributions to both physics and economics. The whole is rounded off by several appendices containing important background material.