There's something to be said for this point of view, as a representation of the short-term fluctuation of market price. I wrote a paper about this (JET, 1994), and there are some other papers on statistical mechanics and economic equilibrium on my web page. >This is particularly for Alejandro, Allin and Paul C: > >Re-browsing through the work by Porter referred to in another post, I note >that Frances Ysidro Edgeworth appears to have been a pioneer in the use of >the gas statistics metaphor for the operation of a competitive market >economy (Porter, T. M. (1986). The rise of statistical thinking 1820-1900, >Princeton: Princeton University Press, page 258). > >I'll follow-up the reference given there and report, but it looks to me as >if FYE got the metaphor wrong: he seems to have associated the gas pressure >with the (alleged) uniformity of price generated by competition. > >Julian > -- Duncan K. Foley Leo Model Professor Department of Economics Graduate Faculty New School University 65 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 (212)-229-5906 messages: (212)-229-5717 fax: (212)-229-5724 e-mail: foleyd@cepa.newschool.edu alternate: foleyd@newschool.edu webpage: http://cepa.newschool.edu/~foleyd
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