Abstract
Consider a complex system whose macrostate is statistically observable, but yet whose operating mechanism is an unknown black-box. In this paper we address the problem of inferring, from the system's macrostate statistics, the system's intrinsic force yielding the observed statistics. The inference is established via two diametrically opposite approaches which result in the very same intrinsic force: a top-down approach based on the notion of entropy, and a bottom-up approach based on the notion of Langevin dynamics. The general results established are applied to the problem of visualizing the intrinsic socioeconomic force-Adam Smith's invisible hand-shaping the distribution of wealth in human societies. Our analysis yields quantitative econophysical representations of figurative socioeconomic forces, quantitative definitions of "poor" and "rich", and a quantitative characterization of the "poor-get-poorer" and the "rich-get-richer" phenomena.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 813-823 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications |
Volume | 392 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 15 2013 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Statistics and Probability
- Condensed Matter Physics
Keywords
- Complex systems
- Distribution of wealth
- Entropy
- Intrinsic forces
- Langevin equation
- Poor-get-poorer
- Rich-get-richer