Sexual Selection and Economic Positioning

Synopsis In their recent survey of Darwinian aesthetics, Grammer et al. (2003) note the surprising lack of a connection between studies related to human beauty and the theory of sexual selection. Understanding this missing link sheds new light on recent research that indicates positional concerns Pingle & Mitchell 2002, Solnick & Hemenway 1998, are important factors in the decision-making process. Integrating the theory of sexual selection into the decision framework found in economics makes it possible to explain why individuals are potentially willing to accept less, as long as it places them in a superior position relative to others.     

PICKING WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY RACE

Fears that the United States is losing its leadership position in technology have prompted the Clinton administration to develop an activist policy position that supports private sector research and development activities. Tantamount to picking "winners and losers," the government, whether by mandate or by establishing a set of parameters guiding some type of competitive application process, would decide which technologies warrant future development with taxpayer supported funding. However, government subsidies designed to promote the development of new technologies often come at the expense of the diffusion of those same technologies. By limiting diffusion, these policies can impose substantial costs on society. Eliminating problems associated with current government policies and fostering the diffusion of new technologies requires limiting the assignment of property rights and restructuring the rewards associated with inventive activity. Such a system would promote the diffusion (and ultimately) the creation of new technologies. This paper proposes a forced royalty system as a potential alternate.     

The evolutionary firm and Cournot's Dilemma

Recently, competence/capability has been introduced as a rivaland as a complement to the idea of transaction-costs as thefoundation for a modern theory of the firm. However, while thecompetence-based approach may be inspired by evolutionary economics,it does not, in its current form, provide an evolutionary theoryof the firm. To transform this competence-based approach intoan evolutionary theory, the connection between the firm andVeblen's concept of social knowledge is more fully developed.Once established, the evolutionary theory of the firm is utilisedto bypass Marshall's reconciliation problem and solve Cournot'sDilemma.     

Competition and Economic Progress

In a recent article, Michael Ghiselin has suggested that what economics has to offer biology is an entrepreneurial conception of the (natural) economy. Creating such a theory would make it possible to explain how the Darwinian view of progress as the outcome of a competitive push (leading to gradual change) and an opportunity pull (generating episodic change) can coexist. However, accomplishing such a task requires the introduction of technological change into the standard economic model, and with it, a broader theory of the competitive process. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.