The General Theory of Economic Evolution
by Kurt Dopfer ,Jason Potts
First published 2008 by Routledge
The burgeoning field of evolutionary economics has developed as a result of the traditional failure of the discipline to explain certain phenomena that impact greatly on the economy: evolution, institutions, knowledge and technology.This book proposes a new analytic framework for the study of the nature and causes of long run economic growth and development in market systems. It starts out by analyzing the foundations of the neoclassical tradition, before developing a thesis through micro, meso and macro domains drawing conclusions as to what can be learned from the point of view of policy analysis. Dopfer and Potts focus on an open-systems analytical framework and successfully formulate and refine the analytical foundations of a new general theory of economic evolution.
The book is unique in that its general theory of economic evolution is intended as an integrated generic framework to define the rules of an economic system, how they are coordinated, and the causes and consequences of their change. It is essential reading for scholars and students of economic evolution and is also broadly intended for anyone who might seek to better understand the complex evolutionary nature of the structure and dynamics of the knowledge-based economy in today’s society.
Kurt Dopfer is Professor of Economics at the Universität St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Jason Potts is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, University of Queensland,Australia.