Quantum Economics and Finance

David Orrell studied mathematics at the University of Alberta and obtained his D.Phil. from Oxford University. His books, published in 20 countries, include Apollo's Arrow: The Science of Prediction and the Future of Everything (HarperCollins 2007), Truth or Beauty: Science and the Quest for Order (Yale University Press 2012), The Evolution of Money (with Roman Chlupatý) (Columbia University Press 2016), The Money Formula: Dodgy Finance, Pseudo Science, and How Mathematicians Took Over the Markets (with Paul Wilmott) (Wiley 2017), and Quantum Economics: The New Science of Money (Icon 2018). He has also published scientific articles on topics including applied mathematics, superconducting magnet design, weather prediction, computational biology, pharmacology, forecasting and economics.

The word "quantum" is from the Latin for "how much" and in this book mathematician David Orrell shows how it applies to the world of economic transactions. Written in clear and accessible language, the book covers the essential mathematics behind topics such as quantum cognition, option pricing, and quantum game theory, and delves into the nuts and bolts of quantum mechanics, the principles of quantum economic modelling, and the basics of quantum computation. On the way the reader will learn how quantum interference can be used to model cognitive dissonance, how a quantum walk goes further than a random walk, and how financial entanglement explains the rate of mortgage default. It is aimed at anyone who wants to understand the quantum ideas working their way into economics and finance, without getting drowned in wave equations.

As interest in quantum computing grows, many companies from established banks to startups are looking at ways to perform financial simulations using quantum algorithms. But what if we should be using quantum models anyway - because the monetary system has quantum properties of its own, and because they work?


The field is developing rapidly, and this third edition contains many updates including new material on quantum logic and quantum agent-based models.


David Orrell is an applied mathematician with extensive experience in mathematical modelling, and the author of a dozen books on science and economics.