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Metabolic Growth Theory: Market-Share Competition, Learning Uncertainty, and Technology Wavelets

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The Evolution of Economic and Innovation Systems

Part of the book series: Economic Complexity and Evolution ((ECAE))

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Abstract

Both exogenous and endogenous growth theories in neoclassicaleconomics ignore the resource constraints and wavelike patterns in technology development. The logistic growth and species competition model in population dynamics provides an evolutionary framework of economic growth driven by technology wavelets in market-share competition. Learning by doing and knowledge accumulation ignores the interruptive nature of technology advancement. Creative destruction can be understood by using knowledge metabolism. Policies and institutions co-evolve during different stages of technology life cycles. Division of labor is limited by the market extent, numbers of resources, and environment fluctuations. There is a trade-off between the stability and complexity of an ecological-industrial system. Diversified patterns in development strategy are shaped by culture and environment when facing learning uncertainty. The Western mode of division of labor is characterized by labor-saving and resource-intensive technology, while the Asian and Chinese modes feature resource-saving and labor-intensive technology. Nonlinear population dynamics provides a unified evolutionary theory from Smith, Malthus, to Schumpeter in economic growth and technology development.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Peter Allen, Wolfgang Weidlich, Edmond Phelps, Joseph Stiglitz, James Galbraith, Ulrich Witt, Justin Lin, Wolfram Elsner, Andreas Pyka, Laura Tyson, Zhengfu Shi, Weisen Li, Yinan Tang, Huajun Li, and Vivian Chen for their stimulating discussions. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their stimulating comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for New Political Economy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Ping Chen

  2. National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Ping Chen

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  1. Ping Chen
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Correspondence to Ping Chen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chair for Economics of Innovation, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

    Andreas Pyka

  2. School of Economics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    John Foster

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Chen, P. (2015). Metabolic Growth Theory: Market-Share Competition, Learning Uncertainty, and Technology Wavelets. In: Pyka, A., Foster, J. (eds) The Evolution of Economic and Innovation Systems. Economic Complexity and Evolution. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13299-0_3

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