The Narrow and Broad Approaches to Evolutionary Modeling in Economics

Some models in evolutionary economics rely on direct analogies to genetic evolution, assuming a population of firms with routines, technologies, and strategies on which forces of diversity generation and selection act. This narrow conception can build upon previous findings from evolutionary biology. Broader concepts of evolution allow many or just one adaptive entity, instead of necessarily requiring a population. Thus, an institution or a society can also be understood as an evolutionary entity. Both the narrow and broad approaches have been extensively used in the literature, albeit in different literature traditions. I provide an overview of the conception and development of both approaches to evolutionary modeling, and argue that a generalization is needed to realize the full potential of evolutionary modeling.     

Dynamic cost functions and freight transport modal split evolution

The paper studies the characteristics of the evolution over time of modal split for a transport system in which various modes compete with each other and face the freight flow increase in different ways. It is shown that the modal split evolution is constituted by a sequence of time periods, in each of which the dynamic characteristics of the system are different. An equilibrium, stable or unstable, is reached after a transition phase, whose length depends on the characteristics of the system, and in some cases exceeds the length of the period, so that an equilibrium is not reached.     

Evolution of the international air transportation country network from 2002 to 2013

In this research, we analyze the evolution of the international air transportation country network from 2002 to 2013 with two perspectives: The network’s physical topology and the functional network with traffic information. Our analysis shows that the network is scale-free and has the small-world property. The evolution of triadic properties suggests that the network gears towards symmetric, transitive closure. We find that United States, Great Britain, and France are critical from both perspectives; Surprisingly, South Africa is particularly critical from topological point of view. Furthermore, topological and functional criticality are highly correlated to the GDP of a country.     

China’s telecommunications evolution,institutions, and policy issues on the eve of 5G: A two-decade retrospect and prospect

Over the past two decades, China’s telecommunications industry has witnessed drastic market reform, steadfast institutionalization, and volatile technological changes, which have driven exponential industry expansion. This paper offers an updated longitudinal and comprehensive review on this reform process on the eve of 5G (the fifth generation mobile communications networks). First, the paper segments the two-decade reform crusade into discernible phases, each of which is embedded with different policy drives. These reform phases are then pattern-matched against the subtleties of the overall institutional, technological, and market backdrop. A series of policy issues are identified through a systematic examination of industry phenomena over the reform course. Finally, the status of research is assessed regarding China’s telecom industry and reform, based on which, knowledge gaps are identified and future research agenda suggested. Conclusions are made regarding future reform and research imperatives. The paper advances the understanding of China’s telecom reform, development, and the underlying policy issues. It updates and expands previous works on similar topics. Overall, this study provides important theoretical, managerial, and policy implications.     

Quantifying land-use change impacts on the dynamic evolution of flood vulnerability

Recently, dramatic flood disasters have occurred incrementally in several regions of the world. Land-use change as one of the main affecting factors becomes a key component in flood risk management. This study strives to deal with quantifying how changes in land use to affect the dynamic evolution of flood vulnerability. The floodplains of Wuhan, which are located in the Yangtze River Basin, have been selected as an example. In this paper, we use GIS to gather different historical geometric data as sources of land-use information. By proposing the Simpsons-dominance index and location index to analyze the characteristics of land-use changes, and building a quantitative model to measure flood vulnerability, a series of flood vulnerability maps demonstrate differential flood vulnerability of floodplains of Wuhan in three inundation scenarios and four historical periods. Finally, the non-parametric correlation is used to reveal the interactive effect of land use and flood vulnerability. Based on this study, comprehensive flood disaster management strategies for land-use planning are proposed for government decision-makers to reduce the flood vulnerability of Wuhan in future.     

The evolution of competition in innovation resource: a theoretical study based on Lotka–Volterra model

This research uses the Lotka–Volterra model to analyse the competition of innovation resource between two enterprises and studies the dynamic effects of environmental changes through the change of model parameters. The research finds that there are three possible results of the competition in innovation resource. That comprises ‘crowding out effect’, ‘unstable equilibrium’ and ‘stable equilibrium’. The results of competitive evolution are determined by enterprises’ interaction parameters. However, the natural growth rates, the initial resource possessions of both enterprises and the amount of regional innovation resource have a significant impact on the evolution of competition.     

Competing technologies and industry evolution: The benefits of making mistakes in the flat panel display industry

This article investigates the post‐entry implications of pre‐entry technological choices made during the uncertain period before a dominant design. Building on work on technological dynamics and organizational inertia, I argue that too early commitments to the winning technology may impede the ability to bring the best product to market, but delaying investment too long limits the ability to accumulate useful knowledge. Using data from the evolution of the flat panel display industry from 1965 to 2005, the study shows empirical support for the two theoretical mechanisms and offers the surprising result that firms starting in the losing technology before switching outperform other firms in terms of product value. Switching, while difficult behaviorally in recovering from failure, both delays difficult‐to‐reverse technological commitments and develops market knowledge. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国未来几年技能型紧缺人才状况与趋势分析

通过我国目前技能型紧缺人才的现状分析,对未来几年技能型紧缺人才的状况与演变趋势加以研究和讨论,进一步提出我国的技能型人才的短缺已成为制约我国经济发展的瓶颈。     

基于投入视角的河南省农业碳排放时空演化特征与影响因素分解

[目的]对河南省农业碳排放进行测算,并分析其时空演化特征与影响因素,可为实现低碳农业发展提供依据。[方法]基于农业生产中翻耕、灌溉、化肥、农药、农膜和农用柴油等6个方面碳源,采用碳转化系数法、标准差、变异系数与探索性空间分析方法 (ESDA)对河南省1993~2015年的农业碳排放及其时空演变进行了分析。运用LMDI模型对河南省农业碳排放影响因素进行分解。[结果]河南省农业碳排放量和排放强度总体上均呈上升趋势,年均增速分别为4.32%和3.72%。河南省农业碳排放量空间分布呈较为明显的集聚特征,主要年份高碳排放区集中于豫东南地区;碳排放强度多为Ⅱ级和Ⅲ级水平,空间分布更为均衡。23年来,河南省各地农业碳排放量和排放强度的相对差异与绝对差异整体上均呈扩大趋势,农业碳排放量的集聚趋势更为明显,高碳排放区域有向豫东南和豫北地区进一步集聚的趋势,农业碳排放强度趋向于均衡化发展。生产效率、劳动力和结构因素对碳排放有抑制作用,而农业经济发展因素对碳排放具有促进作用。[结论]未来河南省还须进一步采取措施,有效实现农业碳减排。     

酒店行业协会的运行机制及其变迁——以广州地区酒店行业协会为例

行业协会在酒店业发展进程中发挥越来越大的作用,但在国内现行条件下,行业协会发展面临多重困难。文章以广州地区酒店行业协会为案例,采用实地调查和深度访谈的方法,讨论行业协会的运行机制及其变迁。研究认为,第一,"政会不分"是目前行业协会管理的主要问题,政府应创新行业协会管理机制,加快"政会分开"的进程,推进部分行业职能向协会转移;第二,酒店行业协会应大胆创新,依据地区、行业发展环境动态调整组织架构,丰富协会职能发挥,以此达到激活协会运行机制的目标。基于此,酒店行业协会可以更好地为会员酒店服务,提升行业专业化管理水平。