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Technology and economic theory

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  • J. Stan Metcalfe

Abstract

Technology and technological change play a central role in economics, whether in the theory of resource allocation or in the theory of growth and development. Yet the nature of technology is largely ignored in economic theory, it being considered sufficient to treat technology as a constraint on productive opportunities. This short essay delves a little deeper into the nature of technology and the material, energy and information transformation processes that it represents. A deeper understanding of technology leads to a deeper understanding of the main currents of technological advance and to the reasons why the development of technology and its application are so uneven over time and place. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Stan Metcalfe, 2010. "Technology and economic theory," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 34(1), pages 153-171, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:34:y:2010:i:1:p:153-171
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bep075
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    Cited by:

    1. Feng Dai & Songtao Wu & Ling Liang, 2014. "Capital and innovation aggregation with environmental pressure: An optimal evolution," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Anthony M. Endres & David A. Harper, 2012. "The kinetics of capital formation and economic organisation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 36(4), pages 963-980.
    3. Dario Guarascio & Mario Pianta & Francesco Bogliacino, 2017. "Export, R&D and New Products: A Model and a Test on European Industries," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & Uwe Cantner (ed.), Foundations of Economic Change, pages 393-432, Springer.
    4. Philip Faulkner & Clive Lawson & Jochen Runde, 2010. "Theorising technology," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 1-16, January.
    5. Hussain, Ammar & Batool, Irem & Akbar, Minhas & Nazir, Marina, 2021. "Is ICT an enduring driver of economic growth? Evidence from South Asian economies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8).
    6. Henning Schwardt, 2022. "Technology and social rules and norms in neo-Schumpeterian economics and in original institutional economics," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 75(303), pages 385-401.
    7. D’Agata, Antonio & Mori, Kenji, 2012. "A dynamic linear economy with characteristic-based endogenous technical coefficients," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 195-204.
    8. Ben Lahouel, Béchir & Taleb, Lotfi & Ben Zaied, Younes & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Does ICT change the relationship between total factor productivity and CO2 emissions? Evidence based on a nonlinear model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    9. Foster, John & Metcalfe, J. Stan, 2012. "Economic emergence: An evolutionary economic perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 420-432.
    10. Havas, Attila, 2016. "Recent economic theorising on innovation: Lessons for analysing social innovation," MPRA Paper 77385, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Smita Srinivas, 2020. "Institutional variety and the future of economics," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 13-35, May.
    12. Foster, John, 2011. "Energy, aesthetics and knowledge in complex economic systems," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 88-100.
    13. Filippetti, Andrea & Peyrache, Antonio, 2011. "The Patterns of Technological Capabilities of Countries: A Dual Approach using Composite Indicators and Data Envelopment Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1108-1121, July.
    14. Erkan Gürpinar, 2013. "Notes on Institutional Complementarities and Organizational Forms," Department of Economics University of Siena 678, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    15. Haftu, Girmay Giday, 2019. "Information communications technology and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A panel data approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 88-99.

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