Following Aoki’s statistical mechanics methodology [Masanao Aoki, New Approaches to Macroeconomic Modeling, Cambridge University Press, 1996; Masanao Aoki, Modeling Aggregate Behaviour and Fluctuations in Economics, Cambridge University Press, 2002; Masanao Aoki, and Hiroshi Yoshikawa, Reconstructing...

We investigate the shape of the Italian personal income distribution using microdata from the Survey on Household Income and Wealth, made publicly available by the Bank of Italy for the years 1977–2002. We find that the upper tail of the distribution is consistent with a Pareto-power law type...

In this paper we tackle the problem of estimating the power-law tail exponent of income distributions by using the Hill's estimator. A subsample semi-parametric bootstrap procedure minimizing the mean squared error is used to choose the power-law cutoff value optimally. This technique is applied...

This paper proposes the κ-generalized distribution as a model for describing the distribution and dispersion of income within a population. Formulas for the shape, moments and standard tools for inequality measurement–such as the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient–are given. A method for...

In this paper we sketch some reflections on the pitfalls and inconsistencies of the research program—currently dominant among the profession—aimed at providing microfoundations to macroeconomics along a Walrasian perspective. We argue that such a methodological approach constitutes an...

Dynamical systems with components whose sizes evolve according to multiplicative stochastic rules have been recently combined with entry and exit processes. We show that the assumptions usually made in modeling exits are at odds with the available evidence. We discuss a recently proposed...

We model a network economy with three sectors: downstream firms, upstream firms, and banks. Agents are linked by productive and credit relationships so that the behavior of one agent influences the behavior of the others through network connections. Credit interlinkages among agents are a source...

We study the size distribution of business cycles phases, that is expansions and contractions, for a sample of 16 industrialized countries over 120 years. We find that the best-fitting distribution for both expansions and contractions is Weibull, meaning that business cycles possess a...

Self-similar models are largely used to describe the extinction rate of biological species. In this paper we analyse the extinction rate of firms in eight OECD countries. Firms are classified by industrial sectors and sizes. We find that while a power-law distribution with exponent close to 2...

A firms growth and failure are the two sides of the same coin. This paper reports new phenomenological findings for firm size distribution and growth, and bankruptcy. This paper is based on [Y. Fujiwara et al., Physica A 335 (2004) 197] and on [Y. Fujiwara, Physica A 337 (2004) 219]. See also...