Laplace transform analysis of a multiplicative asset transfer model

Search Swinburne Research Bank

Home

List of Titles

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/82401

Check Swinburne's subscriptions for full text availability

Title: Laplace transform analysis of a multiplicative asset transfer model
Author(s): Sokolov, Andrey; Melatos, Andrew; Kieu, Tien
Abstract: We analyze a simple asset transfer model in which the transfer amount is a fixed fraction f of the giver's wealth. The model is analyzed in a new way by Laplace transforming the master equation, solving it analytically and numerically for the steady-state distribution, and exploring the solutions for various values of f ∈(0,1). The Laplace transform analysis is superior to agent-based simulations as it does not depend on the number of agents, enabling us to study entropy and inequality in regimes that are costly to address with simulations. We demonstrate that Boltzmann entropy is not a suitable (e.g. non-monotonic) measure of disorder in a multiplicative asset transfer system and suggest an asymmetric stochastic process that is equivalent to the asset transfer model.
Publication type: Journal article
Research centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences. Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Source: Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Vol. 389, no. 14 (Jul 2010), pp. 2782-2792
Publication year: 2010
FOR Code(s): 0105 Mathematical Physics; 0206 Quantum Physics
Keyword(s): Boltzmann entropy; Laplace transform; Master equation; Wealth distribution
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
ISSN: 0378-4371
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2010.02.045
Peer reviewed