Manuel Muiños, mmuinosp@ucm.es
You can access some of my work, use algorithms to solve economic models, and also consult some references.
Notes on the structure and evolution of societies
PhD thesis, Complutense University of Madrid, 2011.
We propose two models: maximum proportional growth (VN) and the steady state with the greatest reduction in working hours (TE). We use VN as a theory of capitalism and some biological societies, and although we explain that it is only a first rough approximation, we demonstrate that this model fulfills many mathematical laws observed in these real systems. We use TE as a sociology of allocation. We also analyze optimal economies, the role that value and accounting play in the economic mechanisms necessary to establish an allocation, and we contrast VN with other possible optimal economies. We point out that the evolutionary processes that have designed societies allow us to understand their similarity to VN, and more specifically natural selection in the case of biological societies, but that the structure of human societies cannot be explained solely by a Darwinian hypothesis. Finally, we provide some brief notes on the history of economic thought.
The thesis (in PDF or without a reader), an abstract and updated bibliography are available.
Capital; an experiment
As part of a research and teaching project at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, we conducted three simulations of pure capitalism with the participation of 210 students as economic agents over a total of 49 sessions. The main objective was to compare the behavior of the system with the Von Neumann economic model, which includes, as particular cases, Leontief's input-output analysis and the Sraffa equations, as well as with their generalization: Maximum Long-Term Benefit. These theories can be interpreted as particular cases of General Equilibrium Theory, but also as alternative theories. At the same time, the simulations allowed students to practically apply and assimilate fundamental economic concepts.
Although the project is under development, a first paper with 18 co-authors has already been presented at the 10th Conference on Input-Output Analysis in September 2024.
You can consult the data, tools to perform the simulation, and other information, and an updated presentation of the paper (in PDF or without a reader).
Computing Von Neumann
Paper at the 8th Conference on Input-Output Analysis, 2019, entitled as Tools for the Solution and Analysis of the Von Neumann Economic Model.
The model is described, highlighting its ability to reproduce many observable characteristics of capitalism based on an extremely simple mathematical structure. Its relationships with other models such as Leontief, Sraffa, game theory, and linear programs are studied, and generalizations are proposed to make it applicable to situations not covered by the original model. Several algorithms are developed to solve it, and its relationship with real-life economic allocation mechanisms is studied, showing how these algorithms can serve as abstract representations of real-life allocation mechanisms.
The paper (in PDF or without a reader), a guide for non-mathematicians and the updated bibliography are available.
Algorithms in Matlab or Octave
The models studied in the other publications can be solved with functions for Matlab or Octave, a free program. The functions are very powerful, very easy, and can be use online. Brief instructions for their use are available.
Algorithms in Excel
Excel spreadsheets for solving the Von Neumann model are available. Although much less powerful than the previous functions, we include the spreadsheets because they are a good illustration of some of the model's properties. Brief instructions for their use are also available.
References
In addition to the bibliographies of the publications, more extensive references are available on economic theory, classics of economics, Ricardo, Marx and Engels, and Von Neumann.