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Quantum Reports

Socio-Economic Sciences: Beyond Quantum Math-like Formalisms

Vikram Athalye, Emmanuel E. Haven

Published Oct 7, 2021• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new interdisciplinary research movement has started, which aims at developing quantum math-like (or simply quantum-like) models to provide an explanation for a variety of socio-economic processes and human behaviour. By making use of mainly the probabilistic aspects of quantum theory, this research movement has led to many important results in the areas of decision-making and finance. In this article, we introduce a novel and more exhaustive approach, to analyze the socio-economic processes and activities, than the pure quantum math-like modelling approach, by taking into account the physical foundations of quantum theory. We also provide a plausibility argument for its exhaustiveness in terms of what we can expect from such an approach, when it is applied to, for example, a generic socio-economic decision process.

DOI
10.3390/quantum3040041

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Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new interdisciplinary research movement has started, which aims at developing quantum math-like (or simply quantum-like) models to provide an explanation for a variety of socio-economic processes and human behaviour. By making use of mainly the probabilistic aspects of quantum theory, this research movement has led to many important results in the areas of decision-making and finance. In this article, we introduce a novel and more exhaustive approach, to analyze the socio-economic processes and activities, than the pure quantum math-like modelling approach, by taking into account the physical foundations of quantum theory. We also provide a plausibility argument for its exhaustiveness in terms of what we can expect from such an approach, when it is applied to, for example, a generic socio-economic decision process.
This concise and self-contained book opens completely novel areas of research by directly implementing concepts from quantum physics into areas of social science. It constructs compelling arguments originating from fundamental concepts in physics and the philosophy of science, including key developments in economics and finance, then surveys the important work which has been performed to date through applying the formalism of quantum mechanics to decision making and finance. The book is accessible to graduate students and researchers in social science and physics, as well as avid interdisciplinary readers. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
Written by world experts in the foundations of quantum mechanics and its applications to social science, this book shows how elementary quantum mechanical principles can be applied to decision-making paradoxes in psychology and used in modelling information in finance and economics. The book starts with a thorough overview of some of the salient differences between classical, statistical and quantum mechanics. It presents arguments on why quantum mechanics can be applied outside of physics and defines quantum social science. The issue of the existence of quantum probabilistic effects in psychology, economics and finance is addressed and basic questions and answers are provided. Aimed at researchers in economics and psychology, as well as physics, basic mathematical preliminaries and elementary concepts from quantum mechanics are defined in a self-contained way.
The application of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics to model behavioral patterns in social science and economics is a novel and constantly emerging field. The aim of the so called 'quantum like' models is to model the decision making processes in a macroscopic setting, capturing the particular 'context' in which the decisions are taken. Several subsequent empirical findings proved that when making a decision people tend to violate the axioms of expected utility theory and Savage's Sure Thing principle, thus violating the law of total probability. A quantum probability formula was devised to describe more accurately the decision making processes. A next step in the development of QL-modeling in decision making was the application of Schrödinger equation to describe the evolution of people's mental states. A shortcoming of Schrödinger equation is its inability to capture dynamics of an open system; the brain of the decision maker can be regarded as such, actively interacting with the external environment. Recently the master equation, by which quantum physics describes the process of decoherence as the result of interaction of the mental state with the environmental 'bath', was introduced for modeling the human decision making. The external environment and memory can be referred to as a complex 'context' influencing the final decision outcomes. The master equation can be considered as a pioneering and promising apparatus for modeling the dynamics of decision making in different contexts.
In this paper, the authors apply models extracted from the Many-Body Quantum Mechanics to understand how knowledge production is correlated to the innovation potential of a work team. This study is grounded in key assumtpions. First, complexity theory applied to social science suggests that it is of paramount importance to consider elements of non-objectivity and non-determinism in the statistical description of socio-economic phenomena. Second, a typical factor of indeterminacy in the explanation of these phenomena lead to the need to apply the instruments of quantum physics to formally describe social behaviours. In order to experiment the validity of the proposed mathematic model, the research intends to: 1) model nodes and interactions; 2) simulate the network behaviour starting from specific defined models; 3) visualize the macroscopic results emerging during the analysis/simulation phases through a digital representation of the social network.
One of the main purposes of this chapter is to explain, albeit in an abstract manner, how quantum physics–like models of the economics-finance contexts would differ from quantum math-like (or simply, quantum-like) models. For this, the chapter begins by considering, what may be called, the “physical” foundations of quantum theory. These include the foundations pertaining to the theoretical, experimental, and interpretational aspects of quantum theory. With reference to the physical foundations, the chapter elaborates on certain expectations from agent-centric economics-finance models to qualify as “quantum physics–analogous”. Then, by briefly reviewing some of the prominent theories of analogical arguments and reasoning from the philosophy of science (for instance, Aristotle’s theory, Hesse’s theory, Gentner’s structure-mapping theory and Bartha’s articulation model), the chapter ends by proposing a strategy for the systematic construction of quantum physics–analogous models of economics and finance.
Quantum economics is an interdisciplinary field that combines the principles of quantum mechanics and economic theories. The research examines the main theoretical and practical aspects of quantum economics, starting with its theoretical foundations based on the principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, uncertainty and entanglement, and ending with practical applications and perspectives for further research. Special attention was paid to the potential impact of quantum technologies on finance, marketing, supply chain management, as well as on macroeconomic planning and policy. It discusses how quantum algorithms can transform traditional approaches in economic research and practice, providing new methods for analyzing complex data, improving forecasting of economic trends, and optimizing decisions under uncertainty. Quantum economics opens up new perspectives for understanding dynamic and interconnected processes in the global economy, which can fundamentally change our perception of economic laws and strategies. It is emphasized that the quantum economy is at the initial stage of its development, and scientists and practitioners face many challenges and questions that need to be solved. In the future, we can expect the development of new tools for economic analysis and decisionmaking based on quantum computing, which will allow us to cope with current and future economic challenges more effectively. The quantum economy can also offer new approaches to risk management and financial security, especially in light of growing cyber threats and the need to protect economic information. Quantum economics is an exciting and promising direction that can significantly enrich both theoretical and applied aspects of economic science.