IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v81y2012i1p122-128.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Emergence and complexity in Austrian economics

Author

Listed:
  • Rosser, J. Barkley

Abstract

Emergence is often argued to be a deep property of complex systems, with such systems exhibiting wholes that are in some way greater than the sum of their parts. These ideas have played an important part in discussions of spontaneous order within Austrian economics, particularly by Hayek drawing on arguments dating from Mill and Menger, although with other traditions such as that of Böhm-Bawerk not relying on such ideas. Philosophical discussions of these terms are considered that raise questions about the relationship between the emergent whole and the lower level parts that comprise it. A major issue is the role of these ideas and processes within evolution, with Hayek in particular moving strongly towards identifying their linkage, something advocated by many non-Austrian economists and non-economists as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosser, J. Barkley, 2012. "Emergence and complexity in Austrian economics," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 122-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:81:y:2012:i:1:p:122-128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2011.09.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268111002277
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2011.09.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mirowski, Philip, 2007. "Markets come to bits: Evolution, computation and markomata in economic science," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 209-242, June.
    2. J. Barkley Rosser, 2011. "Complex Evolutionary Dynamics in Urban-Regional and Ecologic-Economic Systems," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-1-4419-8828-7, July.
    3. J. Barkley Rosser Jr. (ed.), 2009. "Handbook of Research on Complexity," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3625.
    4. Sheri M. Markose, 2005. "Computability and Evolutionary Complexity: Markets as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(504), pages 159-192, June.
    5. Rosser, J. Jr., 1992. "The dialogue between the economic and the ecologic theories of evolution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 195-215, March.
    6. Conlisk, John, 2007. "Comment on "Markets Come to Bits: Evolution, Computation, and Markomata in Economic Science"," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 243-246, June.
    7. Roger Koppl & J. Barkley Rosser Jr, 2002. "All That I Have to Say Has Already Crossed Your Mind," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 339-360, November.
    8. Hodgson, Geoffrey M. & Knudsen, Thorbjørn, 2010. "Generative replication and the evolution of complexity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 12-24, July.
    9. Menger, Carl, 1892. "On the Origins of Money," History of Economic Thought Articles, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, vol. 2, pages 239-255.
    10. Albin, Peter S., 1982. "The metalogic of economic predictions, calculations and propositions," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 329-358, December.
    11. J. Barkley Rosser, 1999. "On the Complexities of Complex Economic Dynamics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 169-192, Fall.
    12. R. Koppl, 2006. "Austrian economics at the cutting edge," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 231-241, December.
    13. Harper, David A. & Endres, Anthony M., 2010. "Capital as a layer cake: A systems approach to capital and its multi-level structure," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(1-2), pages 30-41, May.
    14. Don Lavoie, 1989. "Economic Chaos or Spontaneous Order Implications for Political Economy of the New View of Science," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 8(3), pages 613-640, Winter.
    15. K. Vela Velupillai, 2011. "Towards An Algorithmic Revolution In Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 401-430, July.
    16. Richard H. Day, 1994. "Complex Economic Dynamics - Vol. 1: An Introduction to Dynamical Systems and Market Mechanisms," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262041413, April.
    17. Hodgson, Geoffrey M. & Knudsen, Thorbjorn, 2006. "Why we need a generalized Darwinism, and why generalized Darwinism is not enough," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 1-19, September.
    18. J. Barkley Rosser, 2009. "Computational and Dynamic Complexity in Economics," Chapters, in: J. Barkley Rosser Jr. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Complexity, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Nicolaas J. Vriend, 2002. "Was Hayek an Ace?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 68(4), pages 811-840, April.
    20. Zambelli, Stefano, 2007. "Comments on Phillip Mirowski's article: Markets Come to Bits: Evolution, Computation and Markomata in Economic Science," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 354-358, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Shinji Teraji, 2017. "Understanding coevolution of mind and society: institutions-as-rules and institutions-as-equilibria," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 16(1), pages 95-112, November.
    2. J. Barkley Rosser, 2020. "Austrian themes and the Cambridge capital theory controversies," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 415-431, December.
    3. Vicente Moreno-Casas, 2023. "The Harvard-MIT complexity approach to development and Austrian economics: Similarities and policy implications," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 515-539, December.
    4. Cameli, Simone Amato, 2023. "A complexity economics framework for 21st-century industrial policy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 168-178.
    5. Philip Z. Maymin, 2014. "A New Algorithmic Approach to Entangled Political Economy: Insights from the Simplest Models of Complexity," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Entangled Political Economy, volume 18, pages 213-236, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    6. Vicente Moreno‐Casas & Philipp Bagus, 2022. "Dynamic efficiency and economic complexity," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 115-134, February.
    7. Virgile Chassagnon, 2014. "Toward a Social Ontology of the Firm: Reconstitution, Organizing Entity, Institution, Social Emergence and Power," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 197-208, October.
    8. Moreno-Casas, Vicente & Espinosa, Victor I. & Wang, William Hongsong, 2022. "The political economy of complexity: The case of cyber-communism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 566-580.
    9. Gilles Campagnolo & Gilbert Tosi, 2016. "Organic Views on Institutions: Has Carl Menger Anticipated Complex Adaptive Systems? [La conception organique des institutions de Carl Menger a-t-elle anticipé ce qu’est un système adaptatif comple," Post-Print hal-01446223, HAL.
    10. Victor I. Espinosa & William Hongsong Wang & Jesús Huerta de Soto, 2022. "Principles of Nudging and Boosting: Steering or Empowering Decision-Making for Behavioral Development Economics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    11. J. Barkley Rosser, 2014. "Natural Selection versus Emergent Self-Organization in Evolutionary Political Economy," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Entangled Political Economy, volume 18, pages 67-91, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. J. Barkley Rosser, 2014. "Natural Selection versus Emergent Self-Organization in Evolutionary Political Economy," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Entangled Political Economy, volume 18, pages 67-91, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Koppl, Roger, 2010. "Some epistemological implications of economic complexity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 859-872, December.
    3. Troy Tassier, 2013. "Handbook of Research on Complexity, by J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. and Edward Elgar," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 132-133.
    4. Antonio Doria, Francisco, 2011. "J.B. Rosser Jr. , Handbook of Research on Complexity, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK--Northampton, MA, USA (2009) 436 + viii pp., index, ISBN 978 1 84542 089 5 (cased)," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 196-204, April.
    5. Barbara Dluhosch, 2011. "European Economics at a Crossroads, by J. Barkley Rosser, Jr., Richard P. F. Holt, and David Colander," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 629-631, August.
    6. J. Barkley Rosser Jr & Richard P.F. Holt & David Colander, 2010. "European Economics at a Crossroads," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13585.
    7. J. Barkley Rosser & Marina V. Rosser, 2017. "Complexity and institutional evolution," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 415-430, December.
    8. Fontana, Magda, 2010. "Can neoclassical economics handle complexity? The fallacy of the oil spot dynamic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 584-596, December.
    9. Moreno-Casas, Vicente & Espinosa, Victor I. & Wang, William Hongsong, 2022. "The political economy of complexity: The case of cyber-communism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 566-580.
    10. Rosser Jr., J. Barkley, 2010. "Is a transdisciplinary perspective on economic complexity possible?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 3-11, July.
    11. Richard Holt & J. Barkley Rosser & David Colander, 2011. "The Complexity Era in Economics," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 357-369.
    12. Vicente Moreno-Casas, 2023. "The Harvard-MIT complexity approach to development and Austrian economics: Similarities and policy implications," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 515-539, December.
    13. J. Barkley Rosser, 2020. "Austrian themes and the Cambridge capital theory controversies," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 415-431, December.
    14. Witt, Ulrich, 2009. "Propositions about novelty," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 70(1-2), pages 311-320, May.
    15. Fontana Magda, 2008. "The complexity approach to economics : a Paradigm shift," CESMEP Working Papers 200801, University of Turin.
    16. J. Barkley Rosser, Jr, 2011. "Post Keynesian Perspectives And Complex Ecologic–Economic Dynamics," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 96-121, February.
    17. John Foster, 2005. "From simplistic to complex systems in economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(6), pages 873-892, November.
    18. Harper, David A. & Endres, Anthony M., 2012. "The anatomy of emergence, with a focus upon capital formation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 352-367.
    19. Vicente Moreno‐Casas & Philipp Bagus, 2022. "Dynamic efficiency and economic complexity," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 115-134, February.
    20. Citera, Emanuele & Sau, Lino, 2019. "Complexity, Conventions and Instability: the role of monetary policy," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201924, University of Turin.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Austrian economics; Complexity; Emergence; Evolution; Nomological supervenience;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • C69 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Other

    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:eee:jeborg:v:81:y:2012:i:1:p:122-128. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    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.