This paper discusses Herbert A. Simon’s conception of rationality in two of its principal general definitions: bounded rationality and procedural rationality. It argues that the latter is the one that better synthesizes the author’s view about rational behavior and that the former fills...

This paper aims to consider theoretically and in a preliminary way the most important features and problems concerning the concept of Developmental State, discussing the two issues that would be fundamental for its proper comprehension: (1) the issue about the objectives which characterize a...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of institutional arrangements to development policies. Unfortunately, modern institutionalism has concentrated on the consequences of political and economic liberties (determined by the institutional environment) to development, with...

Technological changes are understood as part of a learning process. Even if a share of knowledge is built outside organizations, the adoption and diffusion of new technologies go through the ability of agents to absorb and retain information. Managerial ability to decode external information and...

Technological changes, when taken exogenously, would be represented by upward shifts in the production curve. The evolutionary approach of economic growth is an alternative to study technological change as endogenous and dynamic process, in which the accumulation of capital takes strategic role...

The issue of fiscal imbalance has become central to the current economic debate. A diagnostic Brazilian fiscal problem emphasizes that the rise in primary expenditure stems from "structural" factors, due to the growth of social security spending and social programs, resulting from the 1988...

This paper discusses the use of Herbert Simon's concept of bounded rationality in the evolutionary firm of Nelson and Winter. The assumption of bounded rationality (an individual behavior) in a collective context of firm could require some justification. We suggest that the adoption of complex...

One of the most influential evolutionary model in Nelson and Winter's book is the one dealing with industrial dynamics (chapter 12). From that model came out meaningful insights about market structure and technological change relationship. Despite the improvements made by evolutionary models...