Boltzmann’s H-theorem is considered a great triumph of science. Though some modifications are necessary to adapt it modern dynamical theories, well established that one its main tenets remains widely accepted: the introduction probability key element in achieving transition from time-reversible, deterministic laws at microscopic level irreversible describing approach equilibrium isolated macros...

This paper analyses the optimal transition from dirty to clean capital when investment is irreversible. The cost of the transition has two components: the technical cost of investing in clean capital instead of polluting capital, and a temporary irreversibility cost. With a carbon price, the irreversibility cost can be reduced by under-utilizing polluting capital. By preventing under-utilizatio...

Recent work in the real options approach to investment has argued that firms face significant opportunity costs when entry costs are largely irreversible, and these costs equal the value of an option to defer investment. This study seeks to examine empirically these claims by investigating the interactive effects of uncertainty and irreversibility on the likelihood of entry into new business by...

The explanation of aggregate and sectoral investment behavior has been one of the less successful endeavors in empirical economics. Existing econometric models have had little success in explaining or predicting investment spending. This may be because most such models fail to account for the irreversibility of most investment spending. With irreversibility, changes in the riskiness of future c...

Spiking activity from populations of neurons display causal interactions and memory effects. Therefore, they are expected to show some degree of irreversibility in time. Motivated by the spike train statistics, in this paper we build a framework to quantify the degree of irreversibility of any maximum entropy distribution. Our approach is based on the transfer matrix technique, which enables us...

This paper presents a general equilibrium model of a two-sector production economy with irreversible real investment. Irreversibility of investment is the most prominent feature of the productive sector. It restricts capital accumulation, affecting firms’ investment decisions, which in turn determine properties of asset prices. Thus, this model provides a framework for connecting stock returns ...

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar Silchar, Assam, India E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected] ABSTRACT A finite-time thermodynamic modelling and simulation of irreversible Diesel cycle engines has been developed considering non-linear variable specific heats with temperature, heat transfer loss, internal irreversibility effects and engin...