Scaling Heuristics Shape Technology! Should Economic Theory Take Notice?

Posted: 30 Jun 2008

See all articles by Sidney G. Winter

Sidney G. Winter

University of Pennsylvania - Management Department

Date Written: June 2008

Abstract

In some economics textbooks production theory is developed axiomatically. The divisibility axiom presents a bold affront to realism. It distorts the static theory and forecloses some potential encounters with technological change. The article reviews propositions about geometrical scaling that have long been recognized as relevant to the realities studied in many fields, including industrial organization economics. The article concludes by sketching a program of reform for production theory that would make connections to Dosi's concepts of technological paradigms and trajectories (Dosi, ).

Suggested Citation

Winter, Sidney G., Scaling Heuristics Shape Technology! Should Economic Theory Take Notice? (June 2008). Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 17, Issue 3, pp. 513-531, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1153277 or http://dx.doi.org/dtn015

Sidney G. Winter (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Management Department ( email )

The Wharton School
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6370
United States

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