Econophysics of Income and Wealth Distributions

The distribution of wealth and income is never uniform, and philosophers and economists have tried for years to understand the reasons and formulate remedies for such inequalities. This book introduces the elegant and intriguing kinetic exchange models that physicists have developed to tackle these issues. This is the first monograph in econophysics focussed on the analyses and modelling of these distributions, and is ideal for physicists and economists. It is written in simple, lucid language, with plenty of illustrations and in-depth analyses, making it suitable for researchers new to this field as well as specialized readers. It explores the origin of economic inequality and examines the scientific steps that can be taken to reduce this inequality in the future.1. Introduction; 2. Income and wealth distribution data for different countries; 3. Major socio-economic modellings; 4. Market exchanges and scattering process; 5. Analytic structure of the kinetic exchange market models; 6. Microeconomic foundation of the kinetic exchange models; 7. Dynamics: generation of income, inequality and development; 8. Outlook; References; Index.