Related Experiment Videos
Statistical mechanics of the international trade network
Agata Fronczak1, Piotr Fronczak
1Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. agatka@if.pw.edu.pl
Abstract:
Analyzing real data on international trade covering the time interval 1950-2000, we show that in each year over the analyzed period the network is a typical representative of the ensemble of maximally random weighted networks, whose directed connections (bilateral trade volumes) are only characterized by the product of the trading countries' GDPs. It means that time evolution of this network may be considered as a continuous sequence of equilibrium states, i.e., a quasistatic process. This, in turn, allows one to apply the linear response theory to make (and also verify) simple predictions about the network. In particular, we show that bilateral trade fulfills a fluctuation-response theorem, which states that the average relative change in imports (exports) between two countries is a sum of the relative changes in their GDPs. Yearly changes in trade volumes prove that the theorem is valid.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Individual and Population Analysis
Entropy
The Entropy as a State Function
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Conditions of Equilibrium
Internal forces are not considered for conditions of equilibrium because they occur in equal and opposite pairs within the body, effectively canceling each other. As a result,...
Reynolds Transport Theorem