Dickens
08-01-2012, 12:30 PM
The Journal of Mathematical Sociology
Volume 36, Issue 3, 2012
Stochastic Modeling of Congress
We analyze the dynamics of growth of the number of congressmen supporting the resolution HR1207 to audit the Federal Reserve. The plot of the total number of cosponsors as a function of time is of the “Devil's staircase” type. The distribution of the numbers of new cosponsors joining during a particular day (step height) follows a power law. The distribution of the length of intervals between additions of new cosponsors (step length) also follows a power law. We use a modification of Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld sandpile model to simulate the dynamics of Congress and obtain good agreement with the data.
Volume 36, Issue 3, 2012
Stochastic Modeling of Congress
We analyze the dynamics of growth of the number of congressmen supporting the resolution HR1207 to audit the Federal Reserve. The plot of the total number of cosponsors as a function of time is of the “Devil's staircase” type. The distribution of the numbers of new cosponsors joining during a particular day (step height) follows a power law. The distribution of the length of intervals between additions of new cosponsors (step length) also follows a power law. We use a modification of Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld sandpile model to simulate the dynamics of Congress and obtain good agreement with the data.