Evolutionary Economics as a Trend in Modern Economics: An Overview
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25312/2391-5129.22/2016_153-176Keywords:
evolution, evolutionism, evolutionary economics, evolutionary processes, natural selectionAbstract
Evolutionary economics is considered to be part of heterodox economics, which focuses on developments in the economic system, their reasons and consequences. Accepting that the reality is dynamic, modern evolutionary economics examines the ways in which the economy evolves, seeking origins and mechanisms of its dynamics. These statements reflect the fundamental ontological and methodological characteristics of evolutionary economics. This article aims at defining evolutionary economics and presenting its historical roots, current views and prospects for development. The issues put forward do not describe its entire range, but only selected elements. This paper is theoretical and consists of five parts. The first part concentrates on explaining the concept and key assumptions of evolutionism in social sciences. Further, the essence of evolutionary economics and its origins are discussed. Owing to the length requirements, the focus is exclusively on presenting the views of the most prominent representatives of this scientific discipline. The final part synthesises fundamental weaknesses of evolutionary economics and prospects for its development.
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