Non-Maxwellian kinetic equations modeling the evolution of wealth distribution

Abstract

We introduce a class of new one-dimensional linear Fokker--Planck type equations describing the evolution in time of the wealth in a multi-agent society. The equations are obtained, via a standard limiting procedure, by introducing an economically relevant variant to the kinetic model introduced in 2005 by Cordier, Pareschi and Toscani according to previous studies by Bouchaud and M\'ezard. The steady state of wealth predicted by these new Fokker--Planck equations remains unchanged with respect to the steady state of the original Fokker--Planck equation. However, unlike the original equation, it is proven by a new logarithmic Sobolev inequality with weight and classical entropy methods that the solution converges exponentially fast to equilibrium.