ECONOPHYSICS

The purpose of the three papers which follow is to describe the field of econophysics as seen by the present author. These papers:

  • highlight the origins of econophysics

  • explain its methodology and in which sense it differs from what is done in econometrics, in sociology or in political science

  • delineate its objectives and ambitions for the next decades

    The first (and shortest) paper is a presentation of econophysics that has been written for the webpage of our laboratory, the LPTHE. There is both an English and a French version. It explains why (and how) it makes sense to apply to the social sciences the experimental approach of physics. It is in this specific sense that econophysics can be seen as a form of "social physics". The second paper is the entry "Econophysics" in the "Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science" to be published by Springer in 2008. The third paper is a presentation of econophysics given in seminar form in various places (Singapore, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, Tokyo, Kyoto) during a journey that I made in the fall of 2007. It was published in the "Evolutionary and Institutional Economic Review" (Kyoto) in March 2008.

  • Social physics

  • "Econophysics" in "Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science" (Springer 2008)

  • Econophysics: challenges and promises