Wealth distribution on a dynamic complex network

Abstract: We present an agent-based model of microscopic wealth exchange in a dynamic network to study the topological features associated with economic inequality. The model evolves through two alternating processes, the conservative exchange of wealth between connected agents and the rewiring of connections, which depends on the wealth of the agents. The two dynamics are interrelated; from the dynamics of wealth a complex network emerges and the network in turn dictates who interacts with whom. We study the time evolution and the economic and topological asymptotic characteristics of the model for different values of a social protection factor $f$, which favors the poorest agent in each wealth transaction. In the case of $f=0$, our results show condensation of wealth and connections in a few agents, in accordance with the mean field models with respect to wealth. Low values of $f$ favor agents from the middle and upper classes, leading to the formation of hubs in the network. As $f$ increases, the network restriction on exchanges gives rise to an egalitarian society different from the results outside the midfield network.