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A notion evolving: From 'institutional path dependence' to 'intellectual path dependence'

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  • Altug Yalcintas

    (Postdoctoral Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge; Assistant Professor, Ankara University)

Abstract

How do ideas evolve? Can one speak of scientific progress when there is more than one pathway of intellectual evolution in which different ideas emerge and flow in different directions? Is the history of economic analysis a compilation of a number of intellectual pathways? This essay argues that it is possible to understand the course of history as a number of overlapping, divergent, and endlessly changing pathways. Such pathways operate in different fashions. They sometimes lead to more coherent and higher levels of understanding. And sometimes they delay or obstruct advancement in intellectual history. In both cases, outcomes are unpredictable and multi-directional.

Suggested Citation

  • Altug Yalcintas, 2012. "A notion evolving: From 'institutional path dependence' to 'intellectual path dependence'," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1091-1098.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-11-00718
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2012/Volume32/EB-12-V32-I2-P103.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Erkan Gurpinar & Altug Yalcintas, 2015. "One Long Argument in Economics: Explaining Intellectual Inertia in terms of Evolutionary Ontology," STOREPapers 2_2015, Associazione Italiana per la Storia dell'Economia Politica - StorEP.
    2. Altug Yalcintas & Isil Sirin Selcuk, 2016. "Research Ethics Education in Economics," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(1), pages 53-74, March.
    3. Yalcintas, Altug, 2013. "The Oomph in economic philosophy: a bibliometric analysis of the main trends, from the 1960s to the present," MPRA Paper 44191, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Institutional path dependnece; intellectual path dependence; evolutionary theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B0 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General
    • B5 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches

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