A long tradition to connect thermodynamics and economics 

Ehrenfest was also interested in developing mathematical theories in economics. This interest was stimulated by his notion that there should be an analogy between thermodynamics and economic processes. While this did not result in publications, he did encourage his graduate student Jan Tinbergen to follow up on this. Tinbergen's thesis was devoted to problems both from physics and economics, and he went on to become an economist and was awarded the first Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1969.

From Wikipedia, on Ehrenfest

My two books

Chen, J. (2005)  The Physical Foundation of Economics: An Analytical Thermodynamic Theory, World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ 

Chen,J. (2015) The Unity of Science and Economics: A New Foundation of Economic Theory, Springer