| Abstract: |
The adequate role of Darwinist concepts in evolutionary economics has long
been a contentious issue. The controversy has recently been rekindled and
modified by the position of "Universal Darwinism", most prominently favored by
Geoffrey Hodgson and Thorbjørn Knudsen. They argue that the ontology of all
evolutionary systems accords to the basic Darwinist scheme of variation,
selection and inheritance. This paper focuses on the emerging application of
the Universal Darwinist framework to the analysis of market competition and
industrial evolution and gauges its usefulness for organizing an evolutionary
approach to industrial economics. Drawing on both a theoretical discussion and
recent empirical findings, it argues that selection and inheritance concepts
narrowly construed after the biological example are of limited help in
studying markets and industries. As an alternative to the 'top-down' approach
of Universal Darwinism, 'bottom-up' causal theories are suggested that explain
how the interplay of descent, experience and learning shapes the competitive
performance of firms in the evolution of industries. |