Multi-species models in econo- and sociophysics

Abstract

In econo- and sociophysical modeling of heterogeneous problems it is often natural to study the time-evolution of distribution functions of different, interacting species. Such models can be seen as the analogue to the physical problem of a mixture of gases, where the molecules of the different gases exchange momentum during collisions. We give two examples of problems where models with multiple, interacting species arise naturally. One is concerned with the formation of bimodal wealth or income distributions in a society, the other considers the process of opinion formation in a heterogeneous society which is built of two groups, one group of ordinary people and one group of so-called strong leaders.