If evolutionary economics is to compete with neoclassical economics as a general-purpose economic theory, it needs to incorporate new aspects of socioeconomic reality, such as institutions of all types, including technical, scientific, and political. Furthermore, evolutionary economics needs to be able to provide policy implications at least as interesting as those of neoclassical economics. Thus, as this book argues, evolutionary economics must become evolutionary political economy. Innovation plays a central role in the book, but not in the sense of providing a technologically determinist interpretation. Rather, the book argues that innovations do not emerge in isolation from other components of socioeconomic systems but coevolve with institutions, infrastructures and organizational forms. This concept of coevolution is absolutely central in the book and provides a link with theories of complexity. In addition to providing an epistemological basis for evolutionary economics, the link with complexity and coevolution offers the connection with evolutionary political economy. Innovations and technologies do not emerge and develop in an institutional vacuum, but interact with existing institutions and reshape them, in addition to inducing the formation of new institutions. In this process, technologies and institutions reinforce each other providing a potential mechanism to transform socioeconomic systems. The book also explores the policy implications of these innovative societies, where wealth is created but unequally distributed. The book is addressed to open-minded economists, social scientists who are dissatisfied with the approach of neoclassical economics, technologists and policy makers.
Author(s): Pier Paolo Saviotti
Series: Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 295
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Preface
1 Economics, Qualitative Change, and Discontinuities
1 Introduction
2 Man-made Artefacts and Structural Change in Socioeconomic Systems
2.1 MMAs and the Twin Characteristic Representation
2.2 Generalized Production of Services
2.3 MMAs, Wants, Needs and Basic Human Functions
3 Qualitative Change and Economic Development
3.1 The Evolution of MMAs
3.2 Capital Goods
3.3 Variety vs Differentiation
3.4 Efficiency and Creativity
4 Analytical Implications of the Twin Characteristic Representation
4.1 Competition
4.2 Demand Theory
2 The Coevolution of Innovation, Technologies and Institutions
1 Technologies and Innovation
1.1 Innovation Concepts and the Twin Characteristic Representation
1.2 Institutions and Organizational Forms
1.2.1 The Modern Firm
1.3 Transformations and Transitions
3 Adaptive Behaviour as the most General form of Socioeconomic Behaviour
1 Introduction
2 Adaptation and Systems
2.1 System Stability and Change
2.2 System Dynamics
2.3 Closed and open Systems
3 Adaptive Behaviour
3.1 ADTO and ADOF
3.2 Collective and Individual Adaptation
3.3 Adaptation, Stability, and Change
3.4 Fitness
3.5 Barriers to Adaptation
3.5.1 Imperfect or Partial Adaptation
3.5.2 Imperfection in Biological Evolution
3.5.3 Statics vs Dynamics
3.5.4 Structural Barriers
3.5.5 Cognitive Barriers
3.5.6 Political Barriers
3.5.7 Decision-making
4 Adaptive Behaviour vs Optimizing Rationality
4 Knowledge and Economics
1 Introduction
2 Some Considerations on the Nature of Knowledge
2.1 Knowledge as Adaptation
2.2 Two Properties of Knowledge
2.2.1 Knowledge as a Co-relational Structure
2.2.2 Knowledge as a Retrieval or Interpretative Structure
2.2.3 Knowledge as a Network
2.2.4 The local Character of Knowledge
2.2.5 Science and Technology
2.2.6 Theories of Knowledge
3 Knowledge in Socioeconomic Systems
3.1 The Production of Knowledge
3.1.1 Division of Labour
3.1.2 Coordination
3.1.3 Competition
3.1.4 Knowledge and the Firm
3.2 Knowledge and Institutions
3.2.1 Technology and the Firm
3.2.2 The Institutionalization of R&D
4 Empirical Applications
4.1 The Knowledge base of the Firm
4.2 Knowledge Properties
4.2.1 Mapping the Knowledge Base (KB) of Firms
4.2.2 The Relationship between the Properties of the KB and Firm Performance
4.2.3 The Dynamics of Knowledge-intensive Sectors
5 Structural Change, Differentiation, and Economic Development
1 From Stylized facts to Theoretical Understanding
1.1 Stylized Facts
1.2 Efficiency and Creativity
1.3 Structural Change, Differentiation and Economic Development
1.4 Services
1.5 Structure, order and Change
2 Structural Change and Differentiation in the Literature on Economic Growth and Development
2.1 A Typology of Models
2.1.1 Level of Aggregation
2.2 The Emergence of Unidirectional Structural Change
2.2.1 Level of Aggregation
2.2.2 Stability vs Change
2.2.3 Qualitative vs Quantitative Change, Heterogeneity
2.2.4 Variety
2.3 Empirical Studies of Unidirectional Structural Change
2.3.1 Endogenous vs Exogenous Change
2.3.2 Decreasing vs Increasing Returns
3 Present State and Future Developments
6 Complexity and Evolutionary Theories
1 Antecedents and Recent Developments
1.1 Evolutionary and Constructivist Rationalisms as Alternative Modes of Knowledge
1.2 From Innovation Studies to Nelson and Winter
1.3 Structure, order and Change
1.4 Rules and Institutions
2 Complexity and Evolutionary Theories
2.1 Interactivity
2.2 Stability and Change
2.3 Order and Disorder
2.4 Irreversibility and path Dependence
2.5 Coevolution
3 Ontology
4 A Comparison of Evolutionary and Neoclassical Economics
7 Evolutionary Political Economics
1 Introduction
2 Innovation and Political Institutions
3 On the Interactions between Innovations, Technologies and Institutions in Recent History
3.1 The Rise of Manufacturing
3.2 From Manufacturing to Services
3.3 Recent Trends: Globalization, Neoliberalism, AI, Knowledge-based Economy and Society
3.3.1 Globalization
3.3.2 Neoliberalism
3.3.3 Knowledge-Based Economy and Society
3.3.4 Long-term Trends
3.4 Environmental Impact
4 Human Decision-Making
8 Policy Implications of Evolutionary Economics
1 Future Trends and Policy Implications
1.1 Main Points of Evolutionary Economics
1.1.1 Qualitative vs Quantitative Change, Discontinuities
1.1.2 Adaptive Behaviour
1.1.3 General Equilibrium
1.1.4 Structural Change and Differentiation
1.1.5 Human Knowledge is Incomplete
1.1.6 Long-term Processes
1.1.7 Coevolution of Technologies and Institutions
2 Policy Implications
2.1 Policy Implications of Creative Destruction
2.1.1 Compensation
2.1.2 From Basic to Higher Needs
2.2 Employment and Social Security
2.2.1 Emerging Policy and Institutional Trends
2.2.2 Structural Change and Flexicurity
2.2.3 AI and Robotics
2.2.4 Routines and Search Activities
2.3 The Welfare or Social State
2.3.1 Social Salary
2.4 Environment
Index
