Frontiers of Evolutionary Economics: Competition, Self-Organization and Innovation Policy

John Foster & J. Stanley Metcalfe Hardcover - 416 pages Edward Elgar; ISBN: 1840645253 Price: £75.00 June 2001 Buy the book

Modern evolutionary economics is now nearly two decades old and in this new book, a distinguished group of evolutionary economists identify the most important developments and discuss the direction of future research.

By moving away from traditional concerns with the operation of selection mechanisms towards a preoccupation with the manner in which the novelty and variety provide fuel for such mechanisms, the authors identify a key development in the field. Evolutionary economists have been drawn into the modern complexity science literature which attempts to provide an understanding of how and why ‘complex adaptive systems’ engage in processes of self-organization. The goal is to provide an integrated analysis of both selection and self-organization that is uniquely economic in orientation.

After a brief overview of the many key achievements and continuing challenges, the first part of the book deals with theoretical perspectives, discussing institutional change, social constructions, complexity, selection and self-selection and the usefulness of theory. Part two deals with empirical perspectives and includes discussion of replicator dynamics, the measurement of heterogeneity and complexity, and modelling organizations as complex adaptive systems.

This unique book will appeal to evolutionary and industrial economists and policymakers involved with issues of innovation and management scientists.

Contributors: P.M. Allen, K. Bryant, U. Cantner, R. Delorme, K. Dopfer, J. Foster, J.M. Gowdy, H. Hanusch, S. Keen, F. Louçã, J.S. Metcalfe, B. Morgan, R.R. Nelson, J. Nightingale, B. Nooteboom, P. Pelikan, J. Potts, P. Ramazzotti, P. Saviotti, D. Wollin

Frontiers of Evolutionary Economics: Competition, Self-Organization and Innovation Policy
John Foster, J. Stanley Metcalfe, Hardcover - 416 pages Edward Elgar; ISBN: 1840645253 Price: £75.00 2001 Buy the book

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