Statistical physics of an asset exchange model with investment and guaranteed income
Phys. Rev. E 113, 034309 – Published 17 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2mh9-nn23
Abstract
An agent-based model of the economy is generalized to incorporate investment and guaranteed income mechanisms in addition to the exchange and distribution mechanisms considered in an earlier model. We use the tools of statistical physics to show that the system is effectively ergodic, is not in equilibrium, but reaches a steady state with occasional large fluctuations because of the effects of multiplicative noise from the investment mechanism. We find realistic wealth distributions and realistic values of the Gini coefficients and the Pareto index.
