A Response to Economics as Gauge Theory

TL;DR

This paper critically analyzes Malaney-Weinstein's gauge theory approach to economics, simplifying their mathematics, disproving their conjectures, and highlighting the lack of practical value in their proposed methods.

Contribution

It clarifies and simplifies the mathematics of Malaney-Weinstein's work and demonstrates that their conjectures do not enhance economic index calculations.

Findings

Malaney-Weinstein's conjectures are invalid for index number calculation.

Their gauge theory approach obscures simple economic concepts.

The work offers a critique of the practical utility of gauge theory in economics.

Abstract

We provide an analysis of the recent work by Malaney-Weinstein on "Economics as Gauge Theory" presented on November 10, 2021 at the Money and Banking Workshop hosted by University of Chicago. In particular, we distill the technical mathematics used in their work into a form more suitable to a wider audience. Furthermore, we resolve the conjectures posed by Malaney-Weinstein, revealing that they provide no discernible value for the calculation of index numbers or rates of inflation. Our conclusion is that the main contribution of the Malaney-Weinstein work is that it provides a striking example of how to obscure simple concepts through an uneconomical use of gauge theory.