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Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics
Books: Text Books: Physics: Item 1
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Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economicsby Eric D. Beinhocker
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful: A big book full of big ideas, June 13, 2006 Reviewer:Christoph B. Gondek "Host, www.theinvisiblehandpodcast.com" (Portland, OR USA) - The biggest idea of the book is pretty simple: The idea of equilibrium in economics doesn't stand up to empirical observation, but if you think of the economy as a subest of evolution, a lot of economic phenomena can be explained. Beinhocker lays out quite a meticulous case and presents some startling implications. He is very careful to say that it is still very early in the game to speak with full certainty about what can happen, and indeed, giving up the concept of certainty is one of the themes of the book. It is one of those books that will have you start looking at the world in a very different way. It is sure to be one of the best economics books of 2006.
From Publishers Weekly
Accounting for the creation of wealth has long challenged humanity's best minds. For business readers and academics, Beinhocker is a zealous and able guide to the emerging economic paradigm shift he calls the "Complexity economics revolution." A fellow of the economic think tank McKinsey Global Institute, he rejects traditional economic theory, based on a physics model of closed systems, in which change is an external disruptive shock. Instead, he outlines an open, adaptive system with interlocking networks that change organically, reflecting the interaction of technological innovation, social development and business practice. Wealth is created to the degree that this interaction decreases entropy in favor of "fit order" that meets human needs, desires and preferences. Beinhocker is sufficiently comfortable with this evolutionary model to advocate a comprehensive redesigning of institutions and society to facilitate it. He argues for corporate policies that favor many small risks over a few big ones and recommends restructuring financial theory to favor growth and endurance rather than short-term gains. Though he asserts that complexity economics can reduce political partisanship and increase social capital, Beinhocker stops short of saying that it cures sexual dysfunction. By the end, the concept emerges as a great idea that the author tries to make a panacea. (June 1)
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
John Kay, management Today
"Unquestionably the most important business book of the year."
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