IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/jinsec/v7y2011i03p393-423_00.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolution as computation: integrating self-organization with generalized Darwinism

Author

Listed:
  • BEINHOCKER, ERIC D.

Abstract

Generalized Darwinism and self-organization have been positioned as competing frameworks for explaining processes of economic and institutional change. Proponents of each view question the ontological validity and explanatory power of the other. This paper argues that information theory, rooted in modern thermodynamics, offers the potential to integrate these two perspectives in a common and rigorous framework. Both evolution and self-organization can be generalized as computational processes that can be applied to human social phenomena. Under this view, evolution is a process of algorithmic search through a combinatorial design space, while self-organization is the result of non-zero sum gains from information aggregation. Evolution depends on the existence of self-organizing forces, and evolution acts on designs for self-organizing structures. The framework yields insights on the role of agency and the emergence of novelty. The paper concludes that information theory may provide a fundamental ontological basis for economic and institutional evolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Beinhocker, Eric D., 2011. "Evolution as computation: integrating self-organization with generalized Darwinism," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 393-423, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:7:y:2011:i:03:p:393-423_00
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744137411000257/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robert, Verónica & Yoguel, Gabriel, 2016. "Complexity paths in neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary economics, structural change and development policies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 3-14.
    2. Rodrick Wallace, 2013. "A new formal approach to evolutionary processes in socioeconomic systems," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Miguel Vazquez, 2018. "Institutional dynamics in an economy seen as a complex adaptive system," IEFE Working Papers 104, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    4. G. Blind & A. Pyka, 2014. "The rule approach in evolutionary economics: A methodological template for empirical research," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 1085-1105, November.
    5. Cristiano Antonelli & Christophe Feder, 2023. "The foundations of Schumpeterian dynamics: The European evidence," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 65-96, January.
    6. Wilson David Sloan & Snower Dennis J., 2024. "Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Economics I: The Multilevel Paradigm," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18.
    7. Naoise McDonagh, 2021. "The evolution of bank bailout policy: two centuries of variation, selection and retention," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 1065-1088, July.
    8. Wäckerle, Manuel, 2013. "On the bottom-up foundations of the banking-macro nexus," Economics Discussion Papers 2013-5, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    9. Miloš Krstić, 2012. "The Role Of Rules In The Evolution Of The Market System: Hayek’S Concept Of Evolutionary Epistemology," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 57(194), pages 123-140, July - Se.
    10. Kurt Dopfer, 2016. "Evolutionary economics," Chapters, in: Gilbert Faccarello & Heinz D. Kurz (ed.), Handbook on the History of Economic Analysis Volume III, chapter 14, pages 175-193, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Kurt Dopfer & Jason Potts & Andreas Pyka, 2017. "Upward and Downward Complementarity: The Meso Core of Evolutionary Growth Theory," Economic Complexity and Evolution, in: Andreas Pyka & Uwe Cantner (ed.), Foundations of Economic Change, pages 69-80, Springer.
    12. Timothy J. Foxon & Jonathan Köhler & Jonathan Michie & Christine Oughton, 2013. "Towards a new complexity economics for sustainability," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 37(1), pages 187-208.
    13. Vargo, Stephen L. & Lusch, Robert F., 2017. "Service-dominant logic 2025," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 46-67.
    14. Blind, Georg, 2011. "Investigating entrepreneurial spirit with the rule approach: why self-employment is on the decline in Japan," MPRA Paper 66749, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:7:y:2011:i:03:p:393-423_00. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/joi .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.