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Darwinism in economics: from analogy to ontology

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Author Info
Geoffrey M. Hodgson () (The Business School, University of Hertfordshire, Mangrove Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 8QF, UK)

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Abstract

Several social scientists, including `evolutionary economists', have expressed scepticism of `biological analogies' and rejected the application of `Darwinism' to socio-economic evolution. Among this group, some have argued that self-organisation is an alternative to biological analogies or Darwinism. Others have seen `artificial selection' as an alternative to natural selection in the socio-economic sphere. Another objection is that Darwinism excludes human intentionality. It is shown that all these objections to `biological analogies' and `Darwinism' are ungrounded. Furthermore, Darwinism includes a broad theoretical framework for the analysis of the evolution of all open, complex systems, including socio-economic systems. Finally and crucially, Darwinism also involves a basic philosophical commitment to detailed, cumulative, causal explanations. For these reasons, Darwinism is fully relevant for economics and an adequate evolutionary economics must be Darwinian, at least in these fundamental senses. However, this does not undermine the need for auxiliary theories and explanations in the economic domain.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Evolutionary Economics.

Volume (Year): 12 (2002)
Issue (Month): 3 ()
Pages: 259-281
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Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:12:y:2002:i:3:p:259-281

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Related research
Keywords: Darwinism - Evolutionary economics - Self-organisation - Causal explanation

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Norbert Berthold & Michael Neumann, 2005. "Europäische Regionalpolitik : Gift für rückständige Regionen?," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 74(1), pages 47-65. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Nooteboom, Bart, 2006. "Organization, evolution, cognition and dynamic capabilities," Discussion Paper 41, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Binder, Martin, 2006. "Evolutionary Economics and Moral Relativism - Some Thoughts," MPRA Paper 1484, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. C. Cordes, 2007. "The Role of Biology and Culture in Veblenian Consumption Dynamics," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2007-13, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group. [Downloadable!]
  5. Ulrich Witt, 2006. "Evolutionary Economics and Psychology," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2006-13, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
  6. Sigrid Stagl, 2004. "Valuation for Sustainable Development : The Role of Multicriteria Evaluation," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 73(1), pages 53-62. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Christian Cordes, 2004. "Darwinism in Economics: From Analogy to Continuity," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2004-15, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
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  8. John H. Finch & Robert McMaster, 2005. "The paths of classical political economy and Walrasian economics through Bowles and Gintis’ rendering of post Walrasian economics," SCEME Working Papers: Advances in Economic Methodology 009/2005, SCEME. [Downloadable!]
  9. Khan, Haider, 2008. "Causal Depth contra Humean Empiricism: Aspects of a Scientific Realist Approach to Explanation," MPRA Paper 8297, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008. [Downloadable!]
  10. G. Buenstorf, 2005. "How Useful Is Universal Darwinism as a Framework to Study Competition and Industrial Evolution?," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2005-02, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
  11. Ulrich Witt, 2006. "Evolutionary concepts in economics and biology," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 473-476, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Fritz Rahmeyer, 2006. "From a Routine-Based to a Knowledge-Based View: Towards an Evolutionary Theory of the Firm," Discussion Paper Series 283, Universitaet Augsburg, Institute for Economics. [Downloadable!]
  13. Khan, Haider, 2008. "Causal Depth: Aspects of a Scientific Realist Approach to Causal Explanation contra Humean Empiricism," MPRA Paper 8293, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008. [Downloadable!]
  14. Hederer, Christian, 2007. "Political Entrepreneurship and Institutional Change: an Evolutionary Approach," MPRA Paper 8249, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  15. V. J. Vanberg, 2004. "Human Intentionality and Design In Cultural Evolution," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2004-02, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
  16. Jorge Bateira, 2005. "Innovation Systems - Do they exist? Exploring Luhmanns thinking," ERSA conference papers ersa05p374, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  17. Jack Vromen, 2008. "Ontological issues in evolutionary economics: The debate between Generalized Darwinism and the Continuity Hypothesis," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2008-05, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group. [Downloadable!]
  18. G. Hodgson & T. Knudsen, 2004. "The Nature and Units of Social Selection," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2004-24, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
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  19. Damien Broussolle, 2006. "The Peace Of Work Agreement: The Emergence And Enforcement Of A Swiss Labour Market Institution," Working Papers of LaRGE (Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie) 2006-04, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg (France). [Downloadable!]
  20. G. Buenstorf, 2006. "Comparative Industrial Evolution and the Quest for an Evolutionary Theory of Market Dynamics," Papers on Econonmics and Evolution 2006-23, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group. [Downloadable!]
  21. Reyes Calderón, 2004. "Fron Neo-classical Entrepreneur to Socio-economic Organization," Faculty Working Papers 01/04, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra. [Downloadable!]
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