The Leap from Free Markets to Autonomous Markets

27 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2006 Last revised: 20 Oct 2007

See all articles by Ross M. Miller

Ross M. Miller

Miller Risk Advisors; SUNY at Albany - School of Business

Abstract

In the spirit of recent work by Philip Mirowski, this article examines the consequences of extending the concept of free markets to a setting where markets are viewed as evolving computational entities. A mechanized market system that can perform the computational tasks required to allocate resources without interference from either humans or other mechanisms is said to be autonomous. At the present time, no computer-based market system, including those used on financial exchanges, is truly autonomous because various external mechanisms exist to override transactions and suspend trading. This article examines the computational feasibility of making markets autonomous and argues that a properly designed autonomous market would be evolutionarily fit.

Keywords: Automated market systems, financial markets, evolutionary economics

JEL Classification: B40, D40, G10

Suggested Citation

Miller, Ross M., The Leap from Free Markets to Autonomous Markets. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 62, No. 2, June 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=922450

Ross M. Miller (Contact Author)

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