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Income distribution in the Colombian economy from an econophysics perspective

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  • Hernando Quevedo
  • María N. Quevedo

Abstract

Recently, in econophysics, it has been shown that it is possible to analyze economic systems as equilibrium thermodynamic models. We apply statistical thermodynamics methods to analyze income distribution in the Colombian economic system. Using the data obtained in random polls, we show that income distribution in the Colombian economic system is characterized by two specific phases. The first includes about 90% of the interviewed individuals, and is characterized by an exponential Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution. The second phase, which contains the individuals with the highest incomes, can be described by means of one or two power-law density distributions that are known as Pareto distributions. ***** En el marco de la econofísica se ha demostrado recientemente que es posible analizar sistemas económicos como modelos termodinámicos en equilibrio. En este artículo aplicamos métodos de termodinámica estadística para analizar la distribución de ingresos dentro del sistema económico colombiano. Utilizando datos de encuestas aleatorias, demostramos que la distribución de ingresos presenta dos fases particulares. La primera corresponde a cerca del 90% del grupo analizado y se caracteriza por una distribución exponencial del tipo Boltzmann-Gibbs. La segunda fase, en la que están incluidos los entrevistados con ingresos más altos, se puede describir mediante una o dos distribuciones de potencias: distribuciones de Pareto.

Suggested Citation

  • Hernando Quevedo & María N. Quevedo, 2016. "Income distribution in the Colombian economy from an econophysics perspective," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 35(69), pages 691-707, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000093:014607
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Econophysics; income distribution; Colombian economy; BoltzmannGibbsdistribution; Pareto distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • C02 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Mathematical Economics
    • C49 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Other
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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