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Emergent Properties of the System of Causal Links

In: The Causes of Economic Growth

Author

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  • Rick Szostak

    (University of Alberta)

Abstract

Emergent properties are outcomes of complex systems of interaction that are not easily understood in terms of the behaviors of individual components of the system. The idea is perhaps most readily comprehended in the natural sciences: life forms have behaviors that cannot be understood in terms of any of the chemicals that together constitute that life form. Emergent properties are often surprising: if chemicals could think they would be amazed at the behaviors of the life forms they constitute. In the social world, individuals may interact in ways that generate results that no individual wants or expects. Emergent properties emerge when there are differences among the constituent elements of the system, and when interactions generate both positive and negative feedbacks. This chapter discusses two possible emergent properties of systems of economic interaction: first poverty traps and then business cycles.

Suggested Citation

  • Rick Szostak, 2009. "Emergent Properties of the System of Causal Links," Springer Books, in: The Causes of Economic Growth, chapter 10, pages 285-304, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-540-92282-7_10
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-92282-7_10
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