Abstract
We explore three simple models, which are easy to understand, but contain the essence of more complex simulations, such as those that deal with epidemics, or the economy. First, a model proposed in 1969 by economist Thomas Schelling, to address a very sensitive question: How can we explain “segregation by colour” in the United States? The second model examines whether competition “among a small number of entrepreneurs” leads to high product uniformity, at the expense of consumers. Finally, we’ll study a strange analogy proposed by physicists, between magnetism and social imitation.
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Going Further
The original Schelling paper: “Models of Segregation” The American Economic Review, 59 488–493 (1969)
Our technical paper, which proves mathematically that selfishness leads to collective frustration: Grauwin et al, “Competition between collective and individual dynamics”, PNAS, vol. 106, 2009, 20622.
Hotelling’s original article: “Stability in competition” The Economic Journal, Vol. 39, 1929, p. 41–57.
On the restaurant owner’s dilemma in setting prices: M. B. Gordon et al, “Seller’s dilemma due to social interactions between customers” Physica A, vol. 356, 2005, p. 628–640.
On the modelling of interactions by economists: S. Durlauf and Y. Ioannides, “Social interactions”, Annu. Rev. Econ. Annu. Rev. 2, 2010, pp. 451–478 and S. Ioannides, 2010. Durlauf, “How can statistical mechanics contribute to social science?” PNAS 96 (1999): 10582
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Jensen, P. (2021). Three Simple Models. In: Your Life in Numbers: Modeling Society Through Data. Copernicus, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65103-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65103-9_2
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