Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Is it “natural” to expect economics to become a part of the natural sciences?

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
The European Physical Journal Special Topics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We are in the middle of a crucial debate whether Economics is really a natural science, which concerns the description and understanding of natural phenomena, based on observations and empirical evidence. In this article I discuss why it is hard to address this topic, by touching upon the cultural aspects of social and natural sciences, and highlighting their differences. As these differences lessen, Economics will be increasingly accepted as a part of natural science.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. A.S. Eichner, Why economics is not yet a science, J. Econ. Issues 17, 507 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. H.E. Stanley, V. Afanasyev, L.A.N. Amaral, S.V. Buldyrev, A.L. Goldberger, S. Havlin, H. Leschhorn, P. Maass, R.N. Mantegna, C.-K. Peng, P.A. Prince, M.A. Salinger, M.H.R. Stanley, G.M. Viswanathan, Anomalous fluctuations in the dynamics of complex systems: from DNA and physiology to econophysics, Physica A 224, 302 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. R.N. Mantegna, H.E. Stanley, Introduction to Econophysics: Correlations and Complexity in Finance (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000)

  4. S. Sinha, A. Chatterjee, A. Chakraborti, B.K. Chakrabarti, Econophysics: An Introduction (Wiley-VCH, Berlin, 2010)

  5. A. Quetelet, Sur l‗homme et le développement de ses facultés ou essai de physique sociale, Volume 1 (Bachelier, 1835)

  6. A. Comte, Social Physics: From the Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (C. Blanchard, New York, 1856)

  7. L. Bachelier, Théorie de la spéculation (Gauthier-Villars, 1900)

  8. A. Einstein, Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen, Ann. Phys. 17, 549 (1905)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. M. Smoluchowski, Zur kinetischen Theorie der Brownschen Molekularbewegung und der Suspensionen, Ann. Phys. 21, 756 (1906)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. J.D. Farmer, M. Shubik, E. Smith, Is economics the next physical science? Phys. Today 58, 37 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  11. A. Chakraborti, D. Challet, A. Chatterjee, M. Marsili, Y.-C. Zhang, B.K. Chakrabarti, Statistical mechanics of competitive resource allocation using agent-based models, Phys. Rep. 552, 1 (2015)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. J.J. Binney, N.J. Dowrick, A.J. Fisher, M.E.J. Newman, The Theory of Critical Phenomena: An Introduction to the Renormalization Group (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1992)

  13. P. Ball, The physical modelling of human social systems, Complexus 1, 190 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. M. Buchanan, Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology, and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics (Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2013)

  15. B.B. Mandelbrot, Fractals and Scaling in Finance, Discontinuity, Concentration, Risk. Selecta Volume E (Springer, New York, 1997)

  16. X. Gabaix, P. Gopikrishnan, V. Plerou, H.E. Stanley, A theory of power-law distributions in financial market fluctuations, Nature 423, 267 (2003)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. M.H.R. Stanley, L.A.N. Amaral, S.V. Buldyrev, S. Havlin, H. Leschhorn, P. Maass, M.A. Salinger, H.E. Stanley, Scaling behaviour in the growth of companies, Nature 379, 804 (1996)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  18. J-P. Bouchaud, M. Potters, Theory of Financial Risk and Derivative Pricing: from Statistical Physics to Risk Management (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000)

  19. D. Sornette, Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2009)

  20. V.M. Yakovenko, J. Barkley Rosser Jr., Statistical mechanics of money, wealth and income, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1703 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti, S.R. Chakravarty, A. Chatterjee, Econophysics of Income and Wealth Distributions (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013)

  22. V. Pareto, Cours d‗économie politique (Rouge, Lausanne, 1897)

  23. A. Chatterjee, B.K. Chakrabarti, Kinetic exchange models for income and wealth distributions, Eur. Phys. J. B 60, 135 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. T. Lux, F. Westerhoff, Economics crisis, Nature Phys. 5, 2 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. P.M. Chaikin, T.C. Lubensky, Principles of Condensed Matter Physics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995)

  26. J.P. Sethna, Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006)

  27. K. Binder, A.P. Young, Spin glasses: Experimental facts, theoretical concepts, and open questions, Rev. Mod. Phys. 58, 801 (1986)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. D. Challet, M. Marsili, Y.-C. Zhang. Minority Games: Interacting Agents in Financial Markets (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004)

  29. T. Veblen, Why is economics not an evolutionary science? Q. J. Econ. 12, 373 (1898)

    Google Scholar 

  30. M. Schabas, The Natural Origins of Economics (University Chicago Press, 2009)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Condensed Matter Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700 064, India

    A. Chatterjee

Authors
  1. A. Chatterjee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Chatterjee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chatterjee, A. Is it “natural” to expect economics to become a part of the natural sciences?. Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 225, 3145–3149 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2016-60157-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2016-60157-0

Search

Navigation