Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316347 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
ICAE Working Paper Series No. 160
Publisher: 
Johannes Kepler University Linz, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy (ICAE), Linz
Abstract: 
Power law distributions are ubiquitous in socioeconomic contexts. While their general properties are well understood, it is often less clear why they regularly appear in empirical data. What are the generative mechanisms leading to power laws, how do they arise in the real world? This paper aims to partly fill this gap by discussing two candidate mechanisms that appear especially relevant for understanding the emergence of power laws in socioeconomic contexts. We identify core formal properties and potential real-world equivalents of these mechanisms. In addition, we explore the relation of power laws to indirectly related concepts relevant in heterodox economics, like path dependence, cumulative effects, power asymmetries or non-ergodicity.
Subjects: 
power law distributions
inequality
generative mechanisms
wealth inequality
firm size
JEL: 
B52
D00
D30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.