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Alternative perspectives on connections in economic systems

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Abstract

This paper explores the significance of Potts’s (2000) claim that the key difference between orthodox and heterodox economics lies in the former viewing the economy as a mathematical field in which everything is connected to everything else, and the latter viewing it as a complex system in which only some elements are connected. It focuses on the types of connections in economic systems that different economists have identified and the significance of the degree of connectivity for how economic systems function. Topics explored include separable consumer networks, separable utility functions, checklist-based decision rules, lifestyles, goodwill, the nature of business strategies and evolution.

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Notes

  1. Potts (2000: 3) defines connections thus: ‘Generally, connections are specific direct relationships between elements, and are ubiquitous in the economic system. They exist in the structure of interdependence and interactions between agents. They exist in the modalities of technology and the forms of organization and competence. They exist as contracts. They exist in the structure of decision rules and the way that information is processed.’

  2. In practice large commercial breweries often adulterate their beers with adjuncts such as cane sugar in an attempt to get more alcohol per dollar of expenditure, but German readers in particular will appreciate that this list is made up of the ‘pure’ ingredients (with the exception of yeast) specified in the Reinheitsgebot of 1516.

  3. Examples of successful Australian microbreweries started by homebrewers include, Mountain Goat Brewery (www.goatbeer.com.au); Hargreaves Hill (www.hargreaveshill.com.au); Holgate Brew House (www.holgatebrewhouse.com.au); Three Ravens Brewery (www.3ravens.com.au).

  4. For example, Malt Shovel Brewing (www.maltshovel.com.au) and Burleigh Brewing Company (www.burleighbrewing.com.au).

  5. See Fran Molloy ‘Lock, Stock and Barrel’, Brisbane Times 28th January 2008 (www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2008/01/25/1201157626068.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2).

  6. Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au). Beer and Brewer Australia, Summer 2007/2008 (www.beerandbrewer.com). See also, Chris Milne, ‘In the heady world of brewing, Cooper’s seeks more cheer in premium beers’, The Age, January 4th 2008 (www.business.theage.com.au/in-the-heady-world-of-brewing-coopers-seeks-more-cheer-in-premium-beers/20080103–1k2h.html); Shane Cummings, ‘WA’s boutique brews’, in Medical Hub, March 1st 2007 (http://www.medicalhub.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2750&Itemid=202).

  7. This figure excludes a relatively large number of new brew pubs-cum-restaurants which have also risen in popularity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

    Peter E. Earl

  2. Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Gold Coast, QLD 9726, Australia

    Tim Wakeley

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  1. Peter E. Earl
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  2. Tim Wakeley
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Correspondence to Peter E. Earl.

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Earl, P.E., Wakeley, T. Alternative perspectives on connections in economic systems. J Evol Econ 20, 163–183 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-009-0147-7

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