This book provides an overview of recent developments of complexity theory within the realm of social sciences. At a time when global and local social, political, cultural, and economic affairs are engulfed in chaos, this book sheds light on the mechanisms of uncertainties, offering new visions and frameworks for analyzing the nonlinear interactions between individuals, societies, and the environment. From exploring the foundational elements that shape our understanding of humanity, such as worldviews, justice, and trust, to applying complexity theory in the realms of politics, economics, management, strategies, and wars, this monograph provides a comprehensive examination of its far-reaching implications. By examining historical bifurcations and structural changes in American history and China's modern development, it emphasizes how complexity theory can serve as a bridge for intellectual and cultural communication between Western (Newtonian) and East Asian (yin-yang-based) civilizations. Moreover, the book elucidates that nonlinear phenomena, including bifurcations, catastrophes, structural changes, emergence of structures, and chaos, are integral aspects of human evolution. It unveils the positive potential within chaos, demonstrating that a comprehensive understanding of catastrophic mechanisms enables humanity to prevent global disasters by leading systems to chaotic attractors without destructive consequences. Through an exploration of the intricate interdependencies among individuals, societies, and the environment, this book offers a unique and comprehensive introduction to the application of complexity theory to the realm of humanity.

What do economic chaos and uncertainties mean in rational or irrational economic theories? How do simple deterministic interactions among a few variables lead to unpredictable complex phenomena? Why is complexity of economies causing so many conflicts and confusions worldwide?This book provides a comprehensive introduction to recent developments of complexity theory in economics. It presents different models based on well-accepted economic mechanisms such as the Solow model, Ramsey model, and Lucas model. It is focused on presenting complex behaviors, such as business cycles, aperiodic motion, bifurcations, catastrophes, chaos, and hidden attractors, in basic economic models with nonlinear behavior. It shows how complex nonlinear phenomena are identified from various economic mechanisms and theories. These models demonstrate that the traditional or dominant economic views on evolution of, for instance, capitalism market, free competition, or Keynesian economics, are not generally valid. Markets are unpredictable and nobody knows with certainty the consequences of policies or other external factors in economic systems with simple interactions.

This book examines the butterfly effect in China's modern economic development during the period of 1978-2018. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect refers to a phenomenon that a butterfly flaps its wings in Okinawa, and subsequently a storm may ravage New York. Deng applied a trivial idea, called the market mechanism, to China's countryside in 1978. The idea has subsequently caused economic structural changes and fast growth in the economy with the largest population in human history. China's per capita GDP jumped from $100 in 1978 to over US$8,000 in 2018. Eight hundred million people have made a great escape from poverty. By 2018, China was the world's second-largest economy from its 10th position in 1978 with its 9 per cent average annual growth rate of GDP in the previous four decades. This illuminating book will be of value to economists, scholars of China, and historians.

This book is a unique blend of difference equations theory and its exciting applications to economics. It deals with not only theory of linear (and linearized) difference equations, but also nonlinear dynamical systems which have been widely applied to economic analysis in recent years. It studies most important concepts and theorems in difference equations theory in a way that can be understood by anyone who has basic knowledge of calculus and linear algebra. It contains well-known applications and many recent developments in different fields of economics. The book also simulates many models to illustrate paths of economic dynamics.

Key Features:

.A unique book concentrated on theory of discrete dynamical systems and its traditional as well as advanced applications to economics.
.Mathematical definitions and theorems are introduced in a systematic and easily accessible way.
.Examples are from almost all fields of economics; technically proceeding from basic to advanced topics.
.Lively illustrations with numerous figures.
.Numerous simulation to see paths of economic dynamics.
.Comprehensive treatment of the subject with a comprehensive and easily accessible approach.
Key Features:

.A unique book concentrated on theory of discrete dynamical systems and its traditional as well as advanced applications to economics.
.Mathematical definitions and theorems are introduced in a systematic and easily accessible way.
.Examples are from almost all fields of economics; technically proceeding from basic to advanced topics.
.Lively illustrations with numerous figures.
.Numerous simulation to see paths of economic dynamics.
.Comprehensive treatment of the subject with a comprehensive and easily accessible approach."

This book constructs an economic theory which may be studied like the I Ching: it contains multiple patterns within a grand whole; it consists of multiple parts and each part represents itself as a consistent unity. The book is the key part of my economic theory with endogenous popUlation, capital, knowledge, preferences, sexual division of labor and consumption, institutions, economic structures and exchange values over time and space (Zhang, I 996a). It has taken me a long laborious process to systematize the ideas represented in this book: formulating the grand vision in Schumpeter's sense, searching for or creating many ideas, of which only a few have 'survived', and now completing this book to make a tell. I remember Schumpeter's attitude: new ideas, unless carefully elaborated, panistakingly defended, and 'pushed', simply will not tell (Schumpeter, 1934), Keynes' observation: the difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones, which ramifY . . . . into every comer of our minds (Keynes, 1936), as well as Confucius' recognition of the importance oftiming: If my p'rinciples are to advance, it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so ordereo. (Confucius, 1992). Acknowledgements I completed this book at the Swedish Institute for Futures Studies. I am grateful to the pleasant and effective environment. produced by the staff of the Institute. I acknowledge my deep appreciation to Professor Ake E. Andersson, my supervisor of Ph. D."

This book develops a general economic theory that integrates various economic theories and ideas and establishes important relationships between economic variables that are not formally recognized in the economic literature. The author demonstrates how the basic model is integrated with neoclassical growth theory, Walrasian general equilibrium theory, and Ricardian distribution theory, and how these theories can be incorporated through a single set of equations with a microeconomic basis. The book offers new insights into income and wealth distribution between heterogeneous households, racial and national differences in growth and development, interdependence between different stock variables with portfolio choices among different markets. It will appeal to scholars of economists interested in an integrative theoretical approach to this discipline.

This book answers some challenging questions in monetary growth theory within a compact theoretical framework. The author succeeds in integrating the theory of money, the theory of value and the theory of growth. The book re-examines many important ideas in modern monetary economics within a single analytical framework. It is concerned not only with traditional one-sector growth models of a homogeneous population with endogenous capital and knowledge, but also with multi-sector models, economies with heterogeneous households, and economies with urban structures, interregional interactions and international trade. Zhang's book will appeal to those studying monetary economics, neoclassical growth theory, development economics and international economics. It is also useful more generally, for researchers in social sciences with an interest in the role of money in modern societies.

This book develops a new theoretical framework to examine the issues of economic growth and development. Providing analysis of economic dynamics in a competitive economy under government intervention in infrastructure and income distribution, the book develops a unique analytical framework under the influence of traditional neoclassical growth theory. However, in a departure from neoclassical growth theory it examines both the Solow-Swan and the Ramsey growth models, introducing a utility function which treats consumer choices in ways critically different to previous approaches. Using practical examples and models the book demonstrates how this new direction can effectively analyze the key issues of economic growth, in a compact and comprehensive manner.

The development of international trade theory has created a wide array of different theories, concepts and results. Nevertheless, trade theory has been split between partial and conflicting representations of international e- nomic interactions. Diverse trade models have co-existed but not in a structured relationship with each other. Economic students are introduced to international economic interactions with severally incompatible theories in the same course. In order to overcome incoherence among multiple theories, we need a general theoretical framework in a unified manner to draw together all of the disparate branches of trade theory into a single - ganized system of knowledge. This book provides a powerful - but easy to operate - engine of analysis that sheds light not only on trade theory per se, but on many other dim- sions that interact with trade, including inequality, saving propensities, education, research policy, and knowledge. Building and analyzing various tractable and flexible models within a compact whole, the book helps the reader to visualize economic life as an endless succession of physical ca- tal accumulation, human capital accumulation, innovation wrought by competition, monopoly and government intervention. The book starts with the traditional static trade theories. Then, it develops dynamic models with capital and knowledge under perfect competition and/or monopolistic competition. The uniqueness of the book is about modeling trade dyn- ics.

This book develops a new theoretical framework to examine the issues of economic growth and development. Providing analysis of economic dynamics in a competitive economy under government intervention in infrastructure and income distribution, the book develops a unique analytical framework under the influence of traditional neoclassical growth theory. However, in a departure from neoclassical growth theory it examines both the Solow-Swan and the Ramsey growth models, introducing a utility function which treats consumer choices in ways critically different to previous approaches. Using practical examples and models the book demonstrates how this new direction can effectively analyze the key issues of economic growth, in a compact and comprehensive manner.

This book examines the butterfly effect in China's modern economic development during the period of 1978-2018. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect refers to a phenomenon that a butterfly flaps its wings in Okinawa, and subsequently a storm may ravage New York. Deng applied a trivial idea, called the market mechanism, to China's countryside in 1978. The idea has subsequently caused economic structural changes and fast growth in the economy with the largest population in human history. China's per capita GDP jumped from $100 in 1978 to over US$8,000 in 2018. Eight hundred million people have made a great escape from poverty. By 2018, China was the world's second-largest economy from its 10th position in 1978 with its 9 per cent average annual growth rate of GDP in the previous four decades. This illuminating book will be of value to economists, scholars of China, and historians.

This book develops a general economic theory that integrates various economic theories and ideas and establishes important relationships between economic variables that are not formally recognized in the economic literature. The author demonstrates how the basic model is integrated with neoclassical growth theory, Walrasian general equilibrium theory, and Ricardian distribution theory, and how these theories can be incorporated through a single set of equations with a microeconomic basis. The book offers new insights into income and wealth distribution between heterogeneous households, racial and national differences in growth and development, interdependence between different stock variables with portfolio choices among different markets. It will appeal to scholars of economists interested in an integrative theoretical approach to this discipline.

A general economic theory to analyze how different economic forces interact over time. It proposes some new combinations of various economic forces which may function at various stages of social and economic evolution. This theory includes the main economic ideas of Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Marx, Mills, Walras, Marshall, Schumpeter and Keynes. It also includes, as special cases, such well-established mathematical models as the Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium model, the Tobin model, the Solow-Swan-Uzawa growth model, the Kaldor-Pasinetti two-class model, the Ricardian models by Morishima, Samuelson and Pasinetti, Keynesian theory, to explain certain economic phenomena which cannot be explained by traditional works.

Synergetic Economics presents a new advance in analytical economics. It deals with problems related to time and change in economic systems, including complex aspects, such as the effects of nonlinearity, instability, bifurcation and chaos in economic evolution. The author argues that economic systems may run through a hierarchy of instabilities in which more and more structural patterns evolve. Such instabilities are caused by changes in the external parameters of the system. They may lead to new spatial-temporal patterns of the system. A number of explicit examples are provided to show how such behavior can occur in various dynamic economic systems. Analytical methods are also presented to cope with nonlinear problems. Of particular interest are sudden (structural) changes, the existence of regular and irregular oscillations, the role of random factors in economic evolution, and the effects of time scales and rates of adjustment of economic variables in economic analysis. The author carefully examines the implications of nonlinear phenomena for decision making, and for economic development in general.

This book answers some challenging questions in monetary growth theory within a compact theoretical framework. The author succeeds in integrating the theory of money, the theory of value and the theory of growth. The book re-examines many important ideas in modern monetary economics within a single analytical framework. It is concerned not only with traditional one-sector growth models of a homogeneous population with endogenous capital and knowledge, but also with multi-sector models, economies with heterogeneous households, and economies with urban structures, interregional interactions and international trade.
Zhang's book will appeal to those studying monetary economics, neoclassical growth theory, development economics and international economics. It is also useful more generally, for researchers in social sciences with an interest in the role of money in modern societies.

This book is concerned with dynamic relations between interregional division of labor, division of consumption and determination of prices structure within a perfectly competitive framework in spatial economy. Our analytical framework examines the issues related to interregional dynamics raised in the traditional regional economic theories as well as to provide insights into the issues related to interdependence between knowledge creation and utilization and spatial economies examined by the new international trade theory and new regional economic theory. The comparative advantage of our theory is that in providing rich insights into complex of regional evolution it uses only a few concepts and simplified functional forms and accepts a few assumptions about behavior of consumers, producers and institutional structures over space.

This book is concerned with dynamic relations between urban division of labor, division of consumption and determination of prices structure within a perfectly competitive framework in spatial economy. Our analytical framework examines the issues related to urban dynamics raised in the traditional urban economic theories and provides insights into the issues related to interdependence between knowledge creation and utilization and spatial economies examined by the new urban/regional economic theory. The comparative advantage of our theory is that in providing rich insights into the complex of urban evolution it uses only a few concepts and simplified functional forms and accepts a few assumptions about the behavior of consumers, producers and institutional structures over space.

The theory of economic development is a branch of economic dynamics. Any discussion of the theory must involve dynamics even though not all dynamic problems are necessarily related to economic development. The theory's primary locus is upon the nice paths of economic variables. Stationary states, which have been the main concern of modem economic development theory, are actually special cases of economic dynamics. In this study, we propose an economic development theory within the framework of input-output systems and neoclassical economics. No political problems will be dealt with, although this does not mean that questions such as why Japan had a higher growth rate than China in the past are not important. Similarly, rather than dealing with the psychological and institutional aspects of in economic development processes we only suggest ways (or methods, as Hicks would call them) for analyzing what determines economic development from the point of view of "pure" economics. Our main contribution to economic growth theory is that we investigate various nonlinear dynamic phenomena such as bifurcations and economic cycles. We emphasize that oscillations and structural changes are not rare but universal in a progressive economy. No economic system can be stabilized forever if change is permitted.

Over more than two centuries the development ofeconomic theory has created a wide array of different concepts, theories, and insights. My recent book Capital and Knowledge (Zhang, 1999a) shows how separate economic theories such as the Marxian economics, the Keynesian economics, the general equilibrium theory, and the neoclassical growth theory can be examined within a single theoretical framework. The Capital and Knowledge constructs an economic theory to account for the phenomena explained by the main economic theories (of national economies) in a unified manner. It tries to draw together the disparate branches of economics into a single organized system ofknowledge. This book is a part of my economic theory with endogenous population, capital, knowledge, preferences, sexual division of labor and consumption, institutions, economic structures and exchange values over time and space (Zhang, 1996a). As an extension of the Capital and Knowledge, which is focused on the dynamics of national economies, this book is to construct a theory of international trade. We are concerned with dynamic relations between international division of labor, division of consumption and determination of prices structure in global economy. We examine dynamic interdependence between capital accumulation, knowledge creation and utilization, economic growth, price structures and international trade patterns under free competition. Our theory is constructed on the basis of a few concepts within a compact framework.

Why has Japanese industrialisation been so much faster than that of China? The relative economic development of Japan and China from similar nineteenth-century conditions are examined in broad philosophical, social, political and historical perspective. The book challenges a common assumption that Chinese Confucianism does not encourage modernisation, while Japanese Confucianism propelled industrialisation forward. It examines further reasons why Max Weber's judgement, 'the Chinese would be probably more capable than the Japanese, of assimilating capitalism', has not been borne out.

The development of international trade theory has created a wide array of different theories, concepts and results. Nevertheless, trade theory has been split between partial and conflicting representations of international e- nomic interactions. Diverse trade models have co-existed but not in a structured relationship with each other. Economic students are introduced to international economic interactions with severally incompatible theories in the same course. In order to overcome incoherence among multiple theories, we need a general theoretical framework in a unified manner to draw together all of the disparate branches of trade theory into a single - ganized system of knowledge. This book provides a powerful - but easy to operate - engine of analysis that sheds light not only on trade theory per se, but on many other dim- sions that interact with trade, including inequality, saving propensities, education, research policy, and knowledge. Building and analyzing various tractable and flexible models within a compact whole, the book helps the reader to visualize economic life as an endless succession of physical ca- tal accumulation, human capital accumulation, innovation wrought by competition, monopoly and government intervention. The book starts with the traditional static trade theories. Then, it develops dynamic models with capital and knowledge under perfect competition and/or monopolistic competition. The uniqueness of the book is about modeling trade dyn- ics.

This book elucidates the Qing history from perspectives of Confucianism as well as modern sciences. It emphasises the Chinese spirits in explicating the socio-economic changes of the dynasty. Historians produce increasingly detailed information about structures and functioning of the Qing system from different perspectives. Nevertheless, there are only a few comprehensive and systematical studies of the Qing history from the Chinese cultural perspective. As many new materials about the Qing dynasty have been accumulated and some new theories about socio-economic evolution have been developed in the last few decades, there is a need for re-examining the rise and fall of China's last dynasty.

This book is part of a broad study on Confucianism and its implications for the modernisation of East Asia. The Opium War symbolises the beginning of foreign humiliations, and the Cultural Revolution represents the apex of self-oppression, self-intimidation and self-humiliations. China vainly strove under the guns of many countries until the end of World War II, and since then, has suffered from many civil wars. Immediately after New China was established in 1949, the CCP closed the door to the outside (democratic) world, thus creating self-humiliations. Since economic reform was launched in 1978, New China has been developed from the verge of nationwide self-murder to the track for prosperity and freedom. The long march from self-destructiveness to social and economic progresses raises many challenging questions about human survival and processes. Philosophical, historical, political and economic perspectives are discussed. An open and enriching New China could dramatically affect the world in the not-so-distant future. This book describes the history of New China as a dynamic process from the pole of central planning, anti-Americanism and anti-Confucianism towards market economy, Americanisation and modernising Confucian manifestations.

This book elucidates the Qing history from perspectives of Confucianism as well as modern sciences. It emphasises the Chinese spirits in explicating the socio-economic changes of the dynasty. Historians produce increasingly detailed information about structures and functioning of the Qing system from different perspectives. Nevertheless, there are only a few comprehensive and systematical studies of the Qing history from the Chinese cultural perspective. As many new materials about the Qing dynasty have been accumulated and some new theories about socio-economic evolution have been developed in the last few decades, there is a need for re-examining the rise and fall of China's last dynasty.

Hong Kong has an urbanisation history of an interesting course -- from fishing village of the Qing dynasty under the Manchu rule, to British colony with 98 per cent of its population being Chinese, to global city with great wealth and business activities, to Communist China's Special Administrative Region (SAR) from 1 July 1997. China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong and granted Hong Kong the right to self-government for at least 50 years, except over diplomatic and defense matters. Long before the return of Hong Kong to China, the colony had already firmly established itself as a regional business centre. It had been at the forefront of the East Asian economic 'miracle' between the 1970s and the mid 1990s. Lightened by multi-coloured neon signs of commercial advertisements, the semi-westernised Chinese city is more attractive in night than in daytime. Hong Kong is full of contrasts and paradoxes. The wide variety of the city's contrasting and yet fluid and interesting social and cultural images, aptly has been described as, 'east and west', local and colonial, modern and traditional, extravagant and frugal -- has earned it the epithet 'a cultural kaleidoscope'. The author explores these contrasts and paradoxes not only from economic, cultural, and social perspectives, but also from perspectives of non-linear theory and Adam Smith's and Confucian philosophies -- an endeavour which no other author has systematically made before.