An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change
Title | An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change PDF eBook |
Author | Richard R. Nelson |
Publisher | Harvard University Press |
Pages | 456 |
Release | 1985-10-15 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9780674041431 |
This book contains the most sustained and serious attack on mainstream, neoclassical economics in more than forty years. Nelson and Winter focus their critique on the basic question of how firms and industries change overtime. They marshal significant objections to the fundamental neoclassical assumptions of profit maximization and market equilibrium, which they find ineffective in the analysis of technological innovation and the dynamics of competition among firms. To replace these assumptions, they borrow from biology the concept of natural selection to construct a precise and detailed evolutionary theory of business behavior. They grant that films are motivated by profit and engage in search for ways of improving profits, but they do not consider them to be profit maximizing. Likewise, they emphasize the tendency for the more profitable firms to drive the less profitable ones out of business, but they do not focus their analysis on hypothetical states of industry equilibrium. The results of their new paradigm and analytical framework are impressive. Not only have they been able to develop more coherent and powerful models of competitive firm dynamics under conditions of growth and technological change, but their approach is compatible with findings in psychology and other social sciences. Finally, their work has important implications for welfare economics and for government policy toward industry.
Evolutionary Theories of Economic and Technological Change
Title | Evolutionary Theories of Economic and Technological Change PDF eBook |
Author | (Pier) Paolo Saviotti |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 286 |
Release | 2018-03-29 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1351127691 |
Recently, evolutionary theories of economic and technological change have attracted a considerable amount of attention which reflects the problems encountered by mainstream analysis of dynamic phenomena and quantitative change. This book, originally published in 1991, develops the debate and draws on the concepts of evolutionary biology, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, systems and organization theory. While recognizing that new technology is not the cause of quantitative change, the editors claim it should play a more central role in economic theory and policy. At the same time, the ground is laid for a more generalized concept of innovation and experimentation and their relation to routine activities. The book is intended for economists.
Technological Evolution, Variety, and the Economy
Title | Technological Evolution, Variety, and the Economy PDF eBook |
Author | Paolo Saviotti |
Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing |
Pages | 250 |
Release | 1996 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN |
This text discusses the fundamental role played by qualitative change in economic development and the contribution made by technological change and innovation.
Modern Evolutionary Economics
Title | Modern Evolutionary Economics PDF eBook |
Author | Richard R. Nelson |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 285 |
Release | 2018-05-03 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1108660789 |
Evolutionary economics sees the economy as always in motion with change being driven largely by continuing innovation. This approach to economics, heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Schumpeter, saw a revival as an alternative way of thinking about economic advancement as a result of Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter's seminal book, An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, first published in 1982. In this long-awaited follow-up, Nelson is joined by leading figures in the field of evolutionary economics, reviewing in detail how this perspective has been manifest in various areas of economic inquiry where evolutionary economists have been active. Providing the perfect overview for interested economists and social scientists, readers will learn how in each of the diverse fields featured, evolutionary economics has enabled an improved understanding of how and why economic progress occurs.
New Developments in Evolutionary Innovation
Title | New Developments in Evolutionary Innovation PDF eBook |
Author | Gino Cattani |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 224 |
Release | 2021-05-13 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 0192573969 |
The growth of evolutionary thinking has had a profound impact on economic theory and related fields such as strategy and technological innovation. An important paradigm that underlies the evolutionary theory of innovation is neo-Darwinian evolution. According to this paradigm, evolution is gradualist and based on the mechanisms of variation, selection, and retention. Since the 1970s, theoretical advancements in evolutionary biology have recognised the central role of punctuated equilibrium, speciation, and exaptation. However, despite their significant influence in evolutionary biology, these advancements have been reflected only partially in evolutionary approaches to economics, strategy, and innovation. The aim of this book is to review these advancements and explore their implications, with a particular emphasis on the role of serendipity and unprestateability in innovation and novelty creation.
Technology, Institutions, and Economic Growth
Title | Technology, Institutions, and Economic Growth PDF eBook |
Author | Richard R. Nelson |
Publisher | Harvard University Press |
Pages | 326 |
Release | 2005-12-30 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9780674019164 |
"In this book Richard R. Nelson mounts a full-blown attack on the standard neoclassical theory of economic growth, which he sees as hopelessly inadequate to explain the phenomenon. His alterative theory posits that economic growth driven by technological advance involves disequilibrium in a fundamental and continuing way. Nelson argues that an adequate theory must take into account a range of institutions, from universities to public laboratories and from government agencies to business firms and markets."--BOOK JACKET.
Evolutionary Economics: Program and Scope
Title | Evolutionary Economics: Program and Scope PDF eBook |
Author | Kurt Dopfer |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 378 |
Release | 2012-12-06 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9401006482 |
Evolutionary Economics: Program and Scope offers a fresh look at the paradigmatic foundations and basic theoretical propositions of economics. Twelve authors - each of them with his own distinct contribution to economics - make a step forward by reinterpreting major areas of micro and macroeconomics in line with modern evolutionary thinking. This volume offers a unified approach to economics that allows recent developments in various strands of Evolutionary Economics to be integrated and major positions of Neoclassical Economics to be reconsidered. The chapters on `Evolutionary Macro Economics' explore macro areas such as the division of labor and knowledge, technology and institutions, population thinking, meso economics, techno-economic trajectories and industrial sectors. By telescoping structure into time, they highlight the processes of structural change and co-evolution between technologies and institutions, and provide a causal-explanatory core for a modern - evolutionary - theory of economic growth and economic development. The chapters on `Evolutionary Micro Economics' offer insights into the knowledge based theories of the firm and take up the issues of cognitive and behavioral routines. The contributions explore the processes of complex human choice, creativity, and adaptation in selective and path-dependent environments. The discussions make an essential contribution to the cognitive and behavioral foundations of a modern institutional economics.