History of Concepts and Principles

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the history of institutional and evolutionary core general concepts and principles. We commence with the institutionalist tendencies of the physiocrats in the 1700s through to the classical economists and Karl MarxNIMarx, K. of the 1800s, and onto the ‘founding father’ of evolutionary-institutionalism, Thorstein VeblenNIVeblen, T., in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This is followed by the contributions of Joseph SchumpeterNISchumpeter, J. and John Maynard KeynesNIKeynes, J.M., then IEPE perspectives of John CommonsNICommons, J., Wesley MitchellNIMitchell, W., Clarence AyresNIAyres, C., Charlotte Perkins GilmanNIGilman, C.P., later contributions of Gunnar Myrdal, J.K. GalbraithNIGalbraith, J.K., Joan RobinsonNIRobinson, J., Nicholas KaldorNIKaldor, N., Paul Baran & Paul SweezyNISweezy, P.M., and others in the mid-to-later twentieth century. Contemporary evolutionary-institutionalists associated with the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE) and the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy, along with complexity, neo-Schumpeterian and feministFeminist/feminism scholars, among others, are additionally explored; plus a short discussion of the so-called new institutional economics.