Séminaire hybride à l'Université McGill ou Zoom.

This presentation introduces General Coordination Theory (GCT), a dynamical framework that bridges Granovetter’s sociological threshold models with the mathematics of dynamic optimal control and Mean-Field Games (MFG). While standard MFG architectures elegantly capture the continuous evolution of aggregate mass, they struggle to reproduce empirical periods of stasis and abrupt collective transitions without introducing exogenous common noise or relying on equilibrium multiplicity and bifurcation-based selection. GCT addresses this by introducing "coordination intensity," a continuous, decaying macroscopic state variable driven by physical flux. By serving as a sufficient public statistic, coordination intensity allows forward-looking agents to rationally synchronize their actions under friction without the computationally intractable burden of tracking infinite-dimensional heterogeneous distributions. Furthermore, the theory applies strict thermodynamic constraints to network topologies. It demonstrates that large-scale network boundaries, such as the Firm, emerge endogenously as "Entropy Shields" because the metabolic cost of global coordination scales super-linearly. Ultimately, GCT provides a unified mathematical engine where empirical S-curves, network fractures, and systemic volatility are explained not as statistical errors, but as the strictly necessary thermodynamic engines of collective adjustment.

Biography: Vidar is a researcher specializing in asset pricing, macroeconomic volatility, and the mathematical micro-foundations of market frictions. He is currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Finance at BI Norwegian Business School, having previously earned his B.Sc. in Finance from George Mason University. The General Coordination Theory (GCT) grew organically out of his ongoing research into asset pricing as an effort to unify heterogeneous agent behavior, sociological phase transitions, and physical economic movement using the tools of dynamic optimal control.