We elaborate a systems approach to the nature of capital that develops the work of Menger and Lachmann (the "ML trajectory"). We propose a "layer cake" metaphor to capture the kernel of the ML approach and contrast it with the neoclassical metaphor of capital as an amorphous, homogeneous...

We examine the inseparability of capital formation and economic organisation in capitalist economic systems. Capital possesses a complex, multilevel (micro, meso, macro) structure that is always in the process of transformation. Levels of the capital structure are interdependent and interactive....

Emergence is a unifying theme of both evolutionary economics and complex systems theory. In spite of this centrality, emergence in economics has not been subject to an extensive critical analysis. This paper remedies this deficit. We identify several conditions that economic patterns (i.e....