Complex networks analysis in socioeconomic models

TL;DR

This paper reviews complex network models and methods applied to socioeconomic issues, highlighting statistical mechanics approaches, computational techniques, and diverse applications in economics, finance, innovation spread, and regional development.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of complex networks in socioeconomic modeling, including recent extensions of classical models and future research directions.

Findings

Ising model extensions on complex networks analyzed

Applications to economics, finance, and innovation spreading discussed

Future research avenues identified

Abstract

This chapter aims at reviewing complex networks models and methods that were either developed for or applied to socioeconomic issues, and pertinent to the theme of New Economic Geography. After an introduction to the foundations of the field of complex networks, the present summary adds insights on the statistical mechanical approach, and on the most relevant computational aspects for the treatment of these systems. As the most frequently used model for interacting agent-based systems, a brief description of the statistical mechanics of the classical Ising model on regular lattices, together with recent extensions of the same model on small-world Watts-Strogatz and scale-free Albert-Barabasi complex networks is included. Other sections of the chapter are devoted to applications of complex networks to economics, finance, spreading of innovations, and regional trade and developments. The chapter also reviews results involving applications of complex networks to other relevant socioeconomic issues, including results for opinion and citation networks. Finally, some avenues for future research are introduced before summarizing the main conclusions of the chapter.