Systemic Risk Seen from the Perspective of Physics

Udo Milkau ()
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Udo Milkau: DZ BANK, Postal: DZ BANK AG, Platz der Republik, 60625, Frankfurt, Germany, http://www.dzbank.de

Journal of Financial Transformation, 2011, vol. 31, 73-81

Abstract: One of the lessons learned from the recent financial crisis is the need to understand the systemic risk in the financial system – i.e., the risk (or probability) for the financial system ‘as a whole’ to turn unstable. As there are analogous concepts in the physics of complex systems, three key aspects of the development of complex systems will be evaluated here: (i) non-linearity, unpredictability, and deterministic chaos; (ii) non-linearity, non-equilibrium, and patterns in space and time; and (iii) phase transitions as a result of ‘magnetic’ ordering. Although financial systems depend to a certain degree on human behavior, the perspective of physics can help to build up a better understanding of how systems ‘as a whole’ develop as a result of interactions between the participants.

Keywords: systemic risk; physics of complex systems; non-linearity; non-equilibrium; phase transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:jofitr:1451

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