Mario Amendola and Jean-Luc Gaffard argue that all too often, markets and technology are treated as two magic words that will open the door to a wealth of riches. An increasing number of governments appear to be aiming for a pure market economy in order to reap the benefits of a benevolent technology that promises the most spectacular advances. Both markets and technology can certainly be considered essential economic factors, but which market and what technology? Is the current prevailing view of competition without restraints and privatisation at all costs actually the essence of the market? This book maintains that the dominant view mistakes the relationship between growth and technical change and, as a consequence, the role of the market in this context. The authors argue that once the issue is analysed in the proper light, the usual ingredients of the dominant policy recipe - zero inflation, balanced budgets, privatisations, deregulation of all markets, extreme flexibility - may not actually be the appropriate ones.The Market Way to Riches will appeal to academics from many branches of economics including heterodox, evolutionary and macroeconomics and those with an interest in economic growth generally. Policy makers influencing economic growth will also find much to engage them.

Standard equilibrium economic models focus on interdependencies. In Out of Equilibrium, Amendola and Gaffard develop a theory also dealing with interdependencies, but based on disequilibria, which take the form of feedback mechanisms over time. The way in which these disequilibria interact sequentially determines the evolution path of an economy. As a result, different processes may be associated with any kind of original shock. Whereas in equilibrium models these processes are determined by the 'fundamentals' of the economy, here the outcome is heavily influenced by the processes themselves, the sequential decisions taken, and policies followed. The model proposed in this book is a heuristic tool that makes it possible to explore these `disequilibria'. By using it, economic phenomena and policy recommendations appear entirely different, and in most cases the interpretations made are diametrically opposite to those advocated by the dominant equilibrium theory, thus giving a new perspective on the recent past of the Western economies.

Recent developments in economics have gone from the recognition of the importance of innovation for growth and the exploration of innovation mechanisms to the incorporation of the results of the previous research into economic models. An important lesson to be drawn from all this research is that a purely macro-based analysis of growth is not enough. The various mechanisms of innovation creation and diffusion, the importance of agent heterogeneity, of market selection processes, of the internal organization of the firm and of organizational routines, and the obsolescence and the consequent emergence of new types of capital goods are a few examples of micro-economic phenomena that contribute decisively to macro-economic development. The papers in this volume approach those issues from a Schumpeterian point of view and tackle issues like the growing importance of knowledge and human capital; increasing returns and path dependence; the role of variety in economic growth; competition and industry evolution.

This book addresses the foundations of economic growth at the firm level, combining both theoretical and econometric contributions by established scholars. Challenging contributions revisit Marshall?s view on the management of innovation, investigate the decision of firms to venture into entrepreneurship and clarify some misunderstanding about Schumpeter?s ideas. The book goes on to shed light on the classical specialisation-flexibility trade-off and provides a vision on the role of the knowledge-based economy and firm networks in technology development. Firm survival and performance, price-cost margins and the determinants of research intensity are also investigated econometrically. Innovation, Economic Growth and the Firm will be of great relevance to students and academics involved in research projects that address issues of firm growth, behaviour and performance. It will also appeal to practitioners seeking tangible results concerning the relationship between key economic variables at the firm level, and to policymakers who need to be aware of the impact that changes in the organization of industries and markets may have on the performance of firms.

Recent developments in economics have gone from the recognition of the importance of innovation for growth and the exploration of innovation mechanisms to the incorporation of the results of the previous research into economic models. An important lesson to be drawn from all this research is that a purely macro-based analysis of growth is not enough. The various mechanisms of innovation creation and diffusion, the importance of agent heterogeneity, of market selection processes, of the internal organization of the firm and of organizational routines, and the obsolescence and the consequent emergence of new types of capital goods are a few examples of micro-economic phenomena that contribute decisively to macro-economic development. The papers in this volume approach those issues from a Schumpeterian point of view and tackle issues like the growing importance of knowledge and human capital; increasing returns and path dependence; the role of variety in economic growth; competition and industry evolution.