Evolutionary Economics

Evolutionary economics is a school of economic thought motivated by evolutionary biology. This economic stream of thought emphasizes competition, growth, resource constraints and composite mutualities. The principal difference between evolutionary economics and conventional economics is that it does not accept distinguishing features of either decision-maker or option of objects as a given.

Foundations

Evolutionary economics is founded on three suggestions:

• Real phenomena are ideas actualized
• Actualizations themselves are matter-energy materializations in space and time
• Evolution of real phenomena is seen.

Human language helps to enunciate ideas. Ideas are thus imparted into the social domain. Generic ideas assist in forming behavioural and cognitive processes and product knowledge is thus made. Generic ideas develop and constitute powers that lead to change. Evolutionary economics is essentially about alterations in generic knowledge. Economic theory is engaged in studying the transition between realized generic ideas. Ideas themselves are projected as ‘knowledge carriers’.

Analytical concepts comparable to ontological axiomatics are:

• Knowledge carriers
• Generic ideas as portions of a process
• Evolutionary formative causality

It is clear that there is no universal law according to evolutionary economics. A ‘variable law’ can be applied in that case. Variable law is speculation that a generic idea determines social dynamics and is changed with the passage of time.

The evolutionary process in social sciences is observed in light of accompanying episodes:

• Generic ideas are formed in the first phase
• Macroscopic acceptances are regulated by diverse mechanisms like learning effects, selection and path dependence in the second phase
• Stabilization founded on high-frequency adoptions occurs in the third phase.

According to evolutionary economics, the evolutionary process is usually irreversible. It is observed as a changeover from the dominance of one generic idea to another. Evolution comprises successive generic ideas. Generic ideas came into being through multiple economic agents.

Summation

Evolutionary economics pertains to shifts of technical and social knowledge, and generic ideas. These influence the socio-economic system and dominates economic phenomena like technologies, institutional arrangements and products. All determining ideas, form and state are transitory and channelized by laws of evolutionary logic.

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