On History of Mathematical Economics: Application of Fractional Calculus

Abstract

Modern economics was born in the Marginal revolution and the Keynesian revolution. These revolutions led to the emergence of fundamental concepts and methods in economic theory, which allow the use of differential and integral calculus to describe economic phenomena, effects, and processes. At the present moment the new revolution, which can be called “Memory revolution”, is actually taking place in modern economics. This revolution is intended to “cure amnesia” of modern economic theory, which is caused by the use of differential and integral operators of integer orders. In economics, the description of economic processes should take into account that the behavior of economic agents may depend on the history of previous changes in economy. The main mathematical tool designed to “cure amnesia” in economics is fractional calculus that is a theory of integrals, derivatives, sums, and differences of non-integer orders. This paper contains a brief review of the history of applications of fractional calculus in modern mathematical economics and economic theory. The first stage of the Memory Revolution in economics is associated with the works published in 1966 and 1980 by Clive W. J. Granger, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2003. We divide the history of the application of fractional calculus in economics into the following five stages of development (approaches): ARFIMA; fractional Brownian motion; econophysics; deterministic chaos; mathematical economics. The modern stage (mathematical economics) of the Memory revolution is intended to include in the modern economic theory new economic concepts and notions that allow us to take into account the presence of memory in economic processes. The current stage actually absorbs the Granger approach based on ARFIMA models that used only the Granger–Joyeux–Hosking fractional differencing and integrating, which really are the well-known Grunwald–Letnikov fractional differences. The modern stage can also absorb other approaches by formulation of new economic notions, concepts, effects, phenomena, and principles. Some comments on possible future directions for development of the fractional mathematical economics are proposed.