Fritz Rahmeyer
Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung oder evolutorischer Wandel
Ein integrativer Versuch zur Fundierung der evolutorischen Ökonomik
Abstract:
In
two survey articles on evolutionary economics Hodgson points out that
currently a consensus of opinion concerning the meaning and explanation
of economic evolution does not exist. But most of the authors involved
agree that the common characteristic of its subject is the central
importance of endogenously emerging innovation activity of privately
owned enterprises, causing a structured economic and organizational
change. Compared with that, there is a lively dispute regarding the
question if processes of technical and economic change can be explained
analogously to the basic principles of biological evolution. From an
economic point of view Schumpeter and Marshall, geared to the level of
a single firm, are of great importance for the development of an
evolutionary theory of economic change. The path-breaking approach of
Nelson and Winter, also based on the significance of innovation
activities of firms, but on their behaviour as well, points the way to
a micro foundation of evolutionary change and its possible
applications, for instance the theory of the firm and Schumpeterian
competition.
So, after the exposition of Schumpeter and Marshall on discontinous and
gradual economic development, a concept of economic evolution following
Neo-Darwinian biological evolution is worked out in detail. In that as
a result the idea of „Universal Darwinism” is the focus of
interest. A population of firms instead of a single firm comes to the
fore, according to population thinking in biology. In enlarging the
Schumpeter-Marshall model finally an evolutionary theory of innovation
activity will be elaborated.
JEL: B30, B52, O31
Paper:
Paper available as pdf-file.
Beitrag Nr. 282, Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsreihe, Institut
für
Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Augsburg
Contact:
Fritz Rahmeyer,
University of Augsburg, Department of Economics, D-86135
Augsburg,
Germany, phone +49-821-598-4203, fax +49-821-598-4230,
email: fritz.rahmeyer@wiwi.uni-augsburg.de
v.
K., 30.11.2005