WEBINAR: ECONOPHYSICS: HOW PHYSICS CHANGED THE WAY OF THINKING AND RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS
Webinar
Econophysics: How Physics changed the way of thinking and research in Economics
To whom: Students in Economics, in Business Administration, in Physics, in Mathematics or in Science (generally), Staff
When: 24/06/2026 at 13:00 (Greek time / EEST)
Where: MS-Teams
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/V21RZrrRHVj1FYzR8
How to participate: A link to access the event will be sent to all registered participants
Description of the event:
Econophysics is an interdisciplinary field that emerged over the last decades, transferring tools, methods, and modes of reasoning from Statistical Physics and the theory of complex systems to the study of economic phenomena. This webinar will present how concepts such as power-law distributions, phases and phase transitions, networks, and collective behavior have contributed to a new understanding of financial markets and economic inequality. It will highlight the critique that Econophysics poses to traditional neoclassical models, particularly regarding assumptions of rationality and normality. At the same time, characteristic examples of successful applications will be discussed, along with the limitations and open challenges of this approach. The aim of the talk is to demonstrate that Physics did not merely provide Economics with new mathematical tools, but introduced a fundamentally different scientific way of thinking for the study of complex socio-economic systems.
Learning goals and competencies:
By the end of this talk, participants will:
- Understand the historical emergence and core motivation of Econophysics as a bridge between Physics and Economics.
- Become familiar with key concepts transferred from Statistical Physics and Complex Systems to economic analysis (e.g. power laws, scaling, networks, collective phenomena).
- Recognize how these concepts challenge and complement traditional neoclassical economic assumptions.
- Appreciate the epistemological shift introduced by Physics in the study of economic and financial systems.
- Gain insight into representative empirical applications and current limitations of the econophysics approach.
Participants will develop the ability to:
- Interpret economic and financial phenomena through the lens of complex systems and statistical physics.
- Critically evaluate economic models by identifying underlying assumptions about equilibrium, rationality, and distributions.
- Connect physical concepts (such as phase transitions or scaling laws) with real-world socio-economic data.
- Assess the strengths and weaknesses of interdisciplinary modeling approaches in socio-economic research.
- Communicate across disciplinary boundaries, fostering dialogue between physicists and economists on complex systems.
Organizing HEI: University of Thessaly
Responsible person: Loukas Zacheilas, Proressor of Applied Mathematics for Economists