This paper builds on previous work within the conceptual framework of a generalized Darwinism that clarifies such concepts as selection and replication. One of its aims is to refine the concept of the interactor. An overview of the conditions under which group selection may occur helps us...

This paper builds on previous work within the conceptual framework of a generalized Darwinism that clarifies such concepts as selection and replication. One of its aims is to refine the concept of the interactor. An overview of the conditions under which group selection may occur helps us...

There has been a remarkable growth in evolutionary economics since the 1980s. But despite this outward success there has been inner disagreement on fundamental issues including the building blocks of evolutionary theory and the very meaning of evolution itself. This essay provides a...

The granting of publicly subsidized joint projects has become a popular policy instrument in Germany and other developed countries. However, little is known about how an emerging subsidization network affects the overall allocation process of further project grants. Employing a database that...

In a Small Fish War two agents interacting on a body of water have essentially two options: they can …fish with restraint or without. Fishing with restraint is not harmful; …shing without yields a higher immediate catch, but may induce lower future catches. Inspired by recent work in biology,...

This article reviews the way of thinking about economic problems and the research agenda associated with the evolutionary approach to economics. This approach generally focuses on the processes that transform the economy from within and on their consequences for firms and industries, production,...

Until a few generations ago, humans made their living by foraging, like other animals. We have therefore inherited genes that allowed our ancestors to thrive as hunters and gatherers. Thriving in a modern economy requires very different behaviours but we cope because the human brain evolved to...

A characteristic feature of economic development is the ever changing structure of consumption patterns. Reducing the explanation of this phenomenon to changing prices, finally caused by changes in the availability of goods (or characteristics), would neglect a major force driving this change,...

Two different approaches have been proposed to explain the rise and decline of industries. Schumpeter (1942/1947) argued that creative destruction was a necessary part of innovation. Rybczynski (1955) demonstrated in a two-factor model that an increase in one factor leads to a decrease in output...