1st Edition

Knowledge, Institutions and Evolution in Economics

By Brian Loasby Copyright 1999
    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    Winner of the Schumpeter Prize, 2000 and Winner of the Smith Prize in Austrian Economics, 2000, this book explores how the limitations of human knowledge create both opportunities and problems in the modern economy. The growing field of evolutionary economics has developed as a result of the traditional failure of the discipline to explain certain phenomena that impact greatly on the economy. These are:
    *Evolution - the impact on the economy of natural change over time
    *Institutions - the impact on the economy of government and/or company policy, rules and regulations
    *Knowledge - the impact on the economy that is felt when new information becomes available

    Knowledge, Institutions and Evolution in Economics is a punchy overview of these topics and one that has become regarded as something of a modern classic that no serious social sciences academic or student should be without.

    Foreword Preface Acknowledgements 1. The Problem of Knowledge 2. Selection and Evolution 3. Cognition and Institutions 4. Capabilities 5. Transactions and Governance 6. Economics Organisation 7. Understanding Markets
    8. The division of Labour and the Growth of Knowledge Bibliography Index

    Biography

    Brian Loasby has held positions in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol and Stirling, where he is currently Honorary Professor.

    '...well balanced account of the individual foundations of economic evolution.' - U. Cantner, Journal of Economics Vol. 72, No. 1, 2000