Nature of thermodynamics equation of state towards economics equation of state

Burin Gumjudpai (IF Naresuan; Econ NIDA); ThEP Center; Yuthana Sethapramote (Econ NIDA)

arxiv: 1907.07108 · v1 · pith:JCIBLZUZnew · submitted 2019-07-10 · ⚛️ physics.soc-ph · econ.GN· q-fin.EC

Nature of thermodynamics equation of state towards economics equation of state

Burin Gumjudpai (IF Naresuan , ThEP Center , Econ NIDA) , Yuthana Sethapramote (Econ NIDA) This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-24 23:11 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ⚛️ physics.soc-ph econ.GNq-fin.EC

keywords equation of statethermodynamicseconomicsmarketdegree of freedomcoordinate variablessupply demand

0 comments

The pith

A proposed market equation of state with unitary demand and linear supply has only one degree of freedom and therefore does not qualify as an equation of state.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper analyzes the roles of coordinate variables in thermodynamic equations of state to establish criteria for valid equations of state. It uses this analysis to divide equations of state into two classes according to their degrees of freedom. The classification is then applied to an earlier economic model of markets that assumes unitary price demand and linear price-dependent supply. The model fails the test because it possesses only one degree of freedom. A sympathetic reader would care because the work supplies a concrete test for whether any new empirical economic relation can legitimately be called an equation of state.

Core claim

Coordinate variables in the equation of state are analyzed so that central concepts are noticed and are used to lay a foundation in building of a new EoS or in testing EoS status of a newly constructed empirical equation. With these concepts, equations of state are classified into two classes. The EoS of market with unitary price demand and linear price-dependent supply function has only one degree of freedom and is therefore not an EoS.

What carries the argument

Two-class classification of equations of state according to degrees of freedom obtained from analysis of thermodynamic coordinate variables.

If this is right

Any economic equation of state must possess at least two degrees of freedom to qualify under the classification.
The unitary-demand linear-supply market model does not qualify as an equation of state.
New economic equations of state should be constructed or tested to ensure they meet the degree-of-freedom requirement.
Empirical economic relations can be checked for equation-of-state status by examining the number of independent coordinate variables they contain.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

Other supply-demand models in economics may also require re-examination to determine whether they meet the two-class criteria.
The coordinate-variable approach could be used to construct new economic equations that explicitly incorporate multiple degrees of freedom from the outset.
Thermodynamic analogies in economics gain a practical test rather than remaining purely formal.

Load-bearing premise

The analysis of thermodynamic coordinate variables produces a valid two-class classification whose degree-of-freedom criterion can be applied directly to economic equations.

What would settle it

Discovery of an empirical economic relation with only one degree of freedom that nevertheless reproduces observed market behavior in the same way thermodynamic equations of state reproduce physical data.

read the original abstract

This work critics on nature of thermodynamics coordinates and on roles of the variables in the equation of state (EoS). Coordinate variables in the EoS are analyzed so that central concepts are noticed and are used to lay a foundation in building of a new EoS or in testing EoS status of a newly constructed empirical equation. With these concepts, we classify EoS into two classes. We find that the EoS of market with unitary price demand and linear price-dependent supply function proposed by \cite{GumjMarket}, is not an EoS because it has only one degree of freedom.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Desk Editor's Note private letter to a colleague

The paper sets up a thermo-based two-class EoS classification and uses it to say the authors' own prior market model has only one degree of freedom so is not an EoS, but the variable mapping is asserted without derivation.

read the letter

Colleague, The key takeaway from this paper is that the authors use an analysis of thermodynamic coordinate variables to create a two-class classification of equations of state and then apply it to argue that their own earlier model of market EoS with unitary price demand and linear supply is not a true EoS because it has only one degree of freedom. What the paper does well is to highlight some basic concepts about how variables function in thermodynamic EoS and to suggest these can be used to test whether a new empirical equation qualifies as an EoS. It also serves as a self-critique of their previous work in the area. The soft spots are more significant. The classification and the degree of freedom determination for the economic case are presented without the actual steps of the coordinate analysis or the method for counting degrees of freedom. More importantly, there is no demonstration that the economic variables obey the same independence and constraint relations as the thermodynamic ones. The mapping is assumed rather than derived from the differential structure, which means the negative judgment on the prior model does not hold up. This paper is aimed at the narrow community interested in econophysics analogies. It is unlikely to be of interest to others. I would not bring this to a reading group or cite it in my work. It does not deserve to go to peer review because the argument lacks the necessary grounding in the variable roles.

Referee Report

2 major / 1 minor

Summary. The paper analyzes thermodynamic coordinates and variable roles in equations of state (EoS) to identify central concepts, which are then used to classify EoS into two classes and to test whether a newly constructed empirical equation qualifies as an EoS. It concludes that the market EoS with unitary price demand and linear price-dependent supply from the authors' prior work (GumjMarket) is not an EoS because it possesses only one degree of freedom.

Significance. If the two-class classification were rigorously derived from coordinate analysis and the degree-of-freedom criterion were shown to transfer validly to economic variables, the framework could supply a systematic test for the EoS status of empirical economic relations. The manuscript supplies no such derivation or mapping, so the potential contribution remains unrealized.

major comments (2)

[Abstract] Abstract: The classification of EoS into two classes and the conclusion that the GumjMarket EoS has only one degree of freedom are stated without any derivation, coordinate analysis steps, or explicit counting method for degrees of freedom. This absence is load-bearing for the central claim.
The application of the thermodynamic degree-of-freedom criterion to economic variables (price, quantity demanded, quantity supplied) assumes that these variables obey the same independence and constraint structure as thermodynamic coordinates (P, V, T), yet no demonstration is given that the economic functional relations satisfy the corresponding differential or integrability conditions.

minor comments (1)

The title contains a grammatical error ('critics on' should read 'critique of' or 'criticism of').

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the detailed review and constructive criticism. We address each major comment below.

read point-by-point responses

Referee: [Abstract] Abstract: The classification of EoS into two classes and the conclusion that the GumjMarket EoS has only one degree of freedom are stated without any derivation, coordinate analysis steps, or explicit counting method for degrees of freedom. This absence is load-bearing for the central claim.

Authors: The manuscript's main body does include analysis of thermodynamic coordinates to identify central concepts used for classification. However, we agree that the abstract and the presentation of the degree-of-freedom conclusion could benefit from more explicit steps. We will revise the abstract to briefly outline the coordinate analysis and add an explicit counting method for degrees of freedom in the relevant section. revision: yes
Referee: The application of the thermodynamic degree-of-freedom criterion to economic variables (price, quantity demanded, quantity supplied) assumes that these variables obey the same independence and constraint structure as thermodynamic coordinates (P, V, T), yet no demonstration is given that the economic functional relations satisfy the corresponding differential or integrability conditions.

Authors: This is a valid observation. The paper applies the criterion by analogy without explicitly deriving or verifying the differential forms or integrability for the economic variables. We will add a new subsection discussing the independence of the economic variables and the constraint imposed by the equilibrium condition, drawing parallels to the thermodynamic case. revision: yes

Circularity Check

1 steps flagged

Two-class EoS classification introduced to disqualify authors' own prior GumjMarket proposal

specific steps

self citation load bearing [Abstract]
"With these concepts, we classify EoS into two classes. We find that the EoS of market with unitary price demand and linear price-dependent supply function proposed by cite{GumjMarket}, is not an EoS because it has only one degree of freedom."

The classification into two classes is introduced in this paper; the central result is then the application of that classification to disqualify the authors' own prior work (GumjMarket). The DOF verdict therefore reduces to the taxonomy the paper itself supplies, with no external benchmark or derivation establishing equivalence of economic variable roles to thermodynamic coordinates.

full rationale

The paper defines a two-class EoS taxonomy from thermodynamic coordinate analysis, then applies the one-degree-of-freedom criterion to conclude that the authors' own cited GumjMarket construction (unitary price demand + linear price-dependent supply) fails to qualify as an EoS. No independent derivation is supplied showing that economic variables satisfy the same differential/independence structure as thermodynamic coordinates (P,V,T), so the negative judgment is constructed from the new taxonomy plus self-citation rather than from external evidence.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 2 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on the transfer of thermodynamic concepts to economics and on an ad-hoc classification whose validity is not independently evidenced in the provided text.

axioms (2)

domain assumption Analysis of coordinate variables in thermodynamics reveals central concepts that apply to economics equations of state.
Invoked to lay foundation for new EoS or testing empirical equations.
ad hoc to paper EoS can be classified into two classes based on these concepts.
This classification is used to determine the status of the market equation.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5646 in / 1353 out tokens · 34951 ms · 2026-05-24T23:11:21.652131+00:00 · methodology

Nature of thermodynamics equation of state towards economics equation of state

Core claim

What carries the argument

If this is right

Where Pith is reading between the lines

Load-bearing premise

What would settle it

discussion (0)