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10 - Technological Evolution

from Part IV - Evolutionary Social Sciences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2018

Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh
Affiliation:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
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Summary

Chapter 10 summarizes the broad literature on the evolution of industry and technology, covering artefacts as well as knowledge. The treatment is organized around three levels of analysis. For technological innovation at the firm level we consider the sources, characteristics, impacts and appropriability of the benefits of technological change. At the level of markets and industries, the interaction between innovation and imitation is addressed. Here detailed attention is given to the nature of diffusion, including at the international level, associated with foreign trade. Finally, at the macro level, long waves or cycles in economic growth are identified, which are linked to major innovations and societal transitions in long-run economic-technological history. Next, path dependence and lock-in of technologies and institutions are addressed. They suggest that a technology may temporally dominate due to historical coincidences combined with increasing returns to adoption. The chapter closes with an examination of management and policy for technological innovation, giving special attention to the idea of optimal technological diversity.
Type
Chapter
Information
Human Evolution beyond Biology and Culture
Evolutionary Social, Environmental and Policy Sciences
, pp. 290 - 318
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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