Physics of Fashion Fluctuations

Abstract

We consider a market where many agents trade many different types of products with each other. We model development of collective modes in this market, and quantify these by fluctuations that scale with time with a Hurst exponent of about 0.7. We demonstrate that individual products in the model occationally become globally accepted means of exchange, and simultaneously become very actively traded. Thus collective features similar to money spontaneously emerge, without any a priori reason.