Microfoundations of Evolutionary Economics

This book provides for the first time the microfoundations of evolutionary economics, enabling the reader to grasp a new framework for economic analysis that is compatible with evolutionary processes. Any independent approach to economics must include a value theory (or price theory) and price and quantity adjustment processes. Evolutionary economics has rightly and successfully concentrated its efforts on explaining evolutionary processes in technology and institutions. However, it does not have its own value theory and is not capable of explaining the workings of everyday economics processes, in which any evolutionary process would take place.

Our point of departure is the addition of myopic agents with severely limited rational and forecasting capacities (in stark contrast to mainstream economics). We show how myopic agents, in a complex world, can produce a stable price system and demonstrate how they can adjust their production to changing demand flows. Agents behave without any knowledge of the overall process, and they generate a stable economy as large as the global network of exchanges. This is the true miracle of the market mechanism. In contrast to mainstream general equilibrium theory, this miracle can be explained without the need for an auctioneer or infinitely rational agents. Thanks to this book, evolutionary economics can now claim to be an independent approach to economics that can completely replace mainstream neoclassical economics.

Presents the first microfoundation book for evolutionary economics Shows how myopic agents with limited rationality can generate plausible adjustment processes in the economy Clarifies how the market mechanism works without an auctioneer and without concepts of demand and supply functions

Auteur

Yoshinori Shiozawa: BSc (Kyoto University), MSc (Kyoto University), DEA (University of Nice). Worked as a Research Associate at the Department of Mathematics and at the Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University, (Associate and Full) Professor at the Department of Economics and Graduate School for Creative Cities, Osaka City University, and Professor at the Department of Commerce, Chuo University. He was also the second President of the Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics. He is currently a Professor Emeritus (Osaka City University) and Fellow of the Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics. He was awarded the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 1992 and the JAFEE Prize in 2016.

Masashi Morioka: BA, MA and PhD (Economics, all from Kyoto University). He is a member of the Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics and an associate editor of the Evolutionary and Institutional Economic Review. He is currently a Professor at the Faculty of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University.

Kazuhisa Taniguchi: BSc (Ritsumeikan University), PhD (Economics, Osaka Prefecture University). Worked as (an Associate and Full) Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Osaka Sangyo University, and as a Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Graduate School of Economics, Kindai University. He is currently a member of the Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics and a Lecturer (part-time) at Kindai University.

Contenu
Chapter 1: Microfoundations of Evolutionary Economics.- Chapter 2: A large Economic System with Minimally Rational Agents.- Chapter 3: The Basic Theory of Quantity Adjustment.- Chapter 4: Dynamic Properties of Quantity Adjustment Process under Demand Forecast Formed by a Moving Average of Past Demands.- Chapter 5: Extensions of Model Analysis of the Quantity Adjustment Process in Several Directions.- Chapter 6: Significance of Non-Linearity and Many Goods Models.- Chapter 7: Exchange and Arbitrage: Price, Evaluation and the Principle of Exchange