Advances In Evolutionary Institutional Economics

‘Hanappi and Elsner have brought together in this volume a group of essays that reveal both the diversity and continuity of the European contribution to evolutionary institutional economics. The essays are rich in methodological significance and analytical detail. The range of topics covered is truly impressive, reflecting the multifaceted nature of this literature. It should serve as an important reference on evolutionary institutional economics for many years to come.’
– Paul D. Bush, California State University, Fresno, US

‘With this important collection, Hardy Hanappi and Wolfram Elsner, have brought together an outstanding volume that is likely to have its impact on the development of evolutionary economics. Expansive in its scope, the innovative contributions range from evolutionary and institutional mechanisms, dynamic market complexity as well as ontological groundwork of the rapidly emerging new evolutionary economics science. The book will be of great interest to academics, students and researchers of evolutionary and institutional economics.’
– Kurt Dopfer, University of St Gallen, Switzerland

Some famous pioneers together with the most promising new practitioners in the field show within this book how they define their subject. This is an authoritative survey of important branches of evolutionary economics, containing innovative new perspectives on market dynamics and evolutionary institutional mechanisms. The authors also tackle enduring problems in the field such as profound uncertainty and the significance of knowledge in economics.

This coherent and focused book will appeal to a wide variety of scholars involved in evolutionary and institutional economics, and evolutionary theory. It will also appeal to researchers and students at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Contents:

Introduction: Evolutionary Economics in the Making
Hardy Hanappi and Wolfram Elsner

PART I: EVOLUTIONARY MECHANISMS
1. Heuristic Twists and Ontological Creeds: A Road Map for Evolutionary Economics
Ulrich Witt

2. Generalized Darwinism from the Bottom Up: An Evolutionary View of Socio-Economic Behavior and Organization
J.W. Stoelhorst

3. Comparative Industrial Evolution and the Quest for an Evolutionary Theory of Market Dynamics
Guido Buenstorf

4. European Contributions to Evolutionary Institutional Economics: The Cases ‘Open-Systems Approach’ (OSA) and ‘Cumulative Circular Causation’ (CCC)
Sebastian Berger and Wolfram Elsner

5. Institutions as Determinants of Preference Change: A One Way Relation?
Martin Binder and Uta-Maria Niederle

PART II: COMPLEXITY, NON-KNOWLEDGE AND STRATEGY
6. Complex Individuals: The Individual in Non-Euclidian Space
John B. Davis

7. The Importance of Ignorance: Non-Knowledge and the Limits of Bayesianism
Oliver Kessler

8. Strong Uncertainty and How to Cope with it to Improve Action and Capacity
Paul Davidson

9. Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Evolutionary Learning Perspective
Carl Henning Reschke and Sascha Kraus

10. The Problem of Knowledge in Economics: Prices, Contracts and Organizations
Stavros Ioannides

Index