Schumpeter, Schumacher and the Greening of Technology

How compatible are the ideas of neo-Schumpeterians (following in the footsteps of Schumpeter, the modern father of technology and innovation studies), and Schumacher, the modern father of sustainable development? At one level, there appears to be a mutually reinforcing and positive relationship between the application of new technology, innovation and improved environmental performance. However, other environmentalists argue that 'global Schumpeter dynamics', by promoting more rapid economic growth worldwide, will swamp any relative improvements in environmental performance and intensity. The tensions between the two perspectives are perhaps most evident in discussions about a possible shift towards a green 'techno-economic paradigm' (TEP). This paper asks whether a green TEP is possible, and what it might look like, in the light of these two perspectives. Neo-Schumpeterians note that while the current information technology TEP shows some sustainability characteristics, it is not inherently 'green'. However, they consider that the groundwork for a sixth, green TEP can be prepared through a mix of policies on research and development, regulation, transport, etc. Schumacher also saw technology as crucial to developing a sustainable world. But his view of sustainability was based on largely self-sufficient and community-led 'intermediate technology' that applied modern science and technology to local settings on an appropriate human and technical scale. What would be the 'key factor' of a green TEP, analogous to the microchip in the fifth, information and communication technology paradigm? A neo-Schumpeterian possibility is hydrogen, in the form of fuel cells. But whether a hydrogen-based society (and economy) can be called 'green', in the sense of the environmental principles espoused by Schumacher, is highly debatable. A less explored possibility - local self-sufficiency - is much more attuned to Schumacher's ideals. This would require people (and their labour) to become the new 'key factor' in a green TEP.     

Schumpeter, Hegel and the vision of development

This paper suggests that the intellectual origins of the visionunderlying Schumpeter's evolving theory of economic developmentcan in significant measure be traced to Hegel. Like Hegel, Schumpeteridentified two essential moments in history—the preservationof the existing order or ‘circular flow’, on theone hand, and its destruction and replacement by a new orderor ‘development’, on the other. Like Hegel, Schumpetersaw change being effected by individuals who grasped what wasessentially new and developing in the particular historicalcircumstances of their own age.     

Schumpeter on the integration of theory and history

This paper assesses Joseph Schumpeter's agenda for the integration of theory and history. On the basis of a critical realist conception of the nature of historical theory it is argued that Schumpeter's aims are at odds with his analytical strategy: his implicit ontology cannot be reconciled with his conception of theory. An illustration is provided as to how this mismatch is reproduced in Schumpeter's substantive attempts to integrate theory and history, and brief reflections are offered as to why this mismatch arose and endured.     

Schumpeter: Theorist of the avant-garde

This paper argues that Schumpeter’s 1911 edition of ‘Theory of Economic Development’ can be fruitfully read as a theory of the avant-garde, in line with such theories developed by artistic avant-garde around the same time, in particular by the Italian Futurists. In particular it will show that both Schumpeter and other avant-garde theorists sought to break with past (1), identify an avant-garde who could force that break (2), find new ways to represent the dynamic world (3), embrace the new and dynamic (4) and promote a perpetual dynamic process, instead of a specific end-state or utopia (5). This new reading helps us to understand the cultural meaning of this seminal text in economics. Secondly it greatly facilitates our understanding of the differences with the later interwar German edition and English edition, which were more cautious in their embrace of the new, less focused on the individual qualities of the entrepreneur and placed more emphasis on historical continuity. Thirdly this reading suggests a different reason for the bifurcation between Schumpeter and the rest of the Austrian school of economics. Traditionally this split is explained by Schumpeter’s affinities with the Lausanne School, this paper instead suggests that the crucial break between Schumpeter on the one hand and Böhm-Bawerk, Wieser and later members of the Austrian School on the other hand is their theory of and attitude toward social change.     

Schumpeter and the theory of capitalist economic development

This paper gives a centenary appreciation of the contributions to economic thought of Joseph A. Schumpeter, with special focus on his work, The Theory of Economic Development (TED) it proceeds, first, by providing (in section 1) an overview of Schumpeter's life and works; second, by giving an interpretative exposition of the main themes of TED (in section 2) and Schumpeter's broader ‘economic sociology’ (in section 3) in terms of the place of these ideas in the history of economic thought; third, by examining the reception to TED and the impact of it and Schumpeter's dynamic methodology on the discipline (in section 4).     

Schumpeter,Schumacher and the Greening of Technology

We propose a semantic patent claim analysis that can examine patents for possible infringements and identify which needs to be manually perused. So far, numerous approaches have been devised to systemise this burden, but have not been useful in practice because of a lack of consideration of semi-structure of patent claim data and claim element-based procedure of adjudicating patent infringement. At the heart of our method is a hierarchical keyword vector for representing the dependency relationships among claim elements (as well as unstructured textual information) and a tree matching algorithm for comparing claim elements of patents. A case study of the patents about DNA chip technology shows our method has considerable advantages in terms of accuracy and significance. We believe the suggested method could be employed in various research areas and serve as a starting point for developing more general models.     

Schumpeter and Steindl on the dynamics of competition

This paper compares and contrasts the contributions of Joseph Alois Schumpeter and Josef Steindl to the competitive paradigm. Both reject the static nature of traditional profit maximizing analysis and the analytical device of a representative firm. Instead they both opt for a dynamic framework in which there is a key role for innovation. Differences emerge in terms of the characteristics of individual firms that nurture the competitive struggle and are responsible for technical change. The maturation process of a capitalist economy, whereby a natural progression will involve an increase in concentration, as prescribed by Schumpeter and Steindl is also explored, as is criticism of their analyses. Finally the holistic approach to competitive modelling, a legacy of these two economists, is expounded and challenges for the future identified.     

Schumpeter,Keynes and the theory of economic evolution

The contribution deals with a nonlinear dynamic macro-economic model which is used for simulation runs. Conditions and model specifications allowing for global stability are investigated and tested. Based on this some well-known facts as Schumpeterian long-wave phenomena, Keynesian unemployment, productivity growth effects are simulated. Moreover specifying an instrumental variable for state interventions policy issues are also discussed. With this runs it is shown that minor changes of parameters may provide totally different outcomes and different economic developments.     

解读马克思与熊彼特的"二分法悖论"

理论界流行着关于马克思与熊彼特的"二分法悖论",马克思认为"资本主义制度最终不能继续生存是因为其经济失败",而熊彼特则认为"资本主义制度最终被摧毁是因为其创新而取得的经济成功".本文旨在通过比较马克思与熊彼特的经济发展的思想后,探讨了这两位经济学家得出截然不同的结论的原因.     

The evolutionary and non-Darwinian economics of Joseph Schumpeter

In a recent paper, Matthias Kelm (1997) accepts that `Schumpeter's definition of evolution does not contain any Darwinian mechanism such as natural selection or any other biological concept' and that Schumpeter `made no such attempt' to apply `Darwinian theory to economic evolution'. However, Kelm goes on to argue that Schumpeter would have been a Darwinian if circumstances were different. It is argued here that this contention is highly implausible because Schumpeter explicitly rejected biological metaphors and analogies in economics. Furthermore, Schumpeter misunderstood Darwinism. In his attempt to `interpret' Schumpeter as a Darwinian, Kelm himself misrepresents the three core principles of Darwinism. In addition Kelm's paper contains several misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the assessment of Schumpeter made by Hodgson (1993). This present response concludes that Schumpeter was indeed one of the greatest economists of the twentieth century and that he may legitimately be described as an `evolutionary economist'. However, he cautioned strongly against the use of biological metaphors in economics and there is no legitimate basis for describing his approach as Darwinian.     

Hans Singer's debts to Schumpeter and Keynes

This essay discusses Hans Singer's intellectual formation andthe influences on his early writings and on his post-1947 developmenteconomics. It asks what impact the unusual experience of studyingwith both Schumpeter and Keynes had upon his subsequent economicthinking and practice. It argues that the influence of boththese mentors was surprisingly small, compared with that ofSpiethoff and Clark. Singer repaid his debts to Schumpeter andKeynes, but by working in the new currency of development economics,some of which was his own coinage. His motivation for this vasteffort was derived from the social egalitarianism of figuressuch as William Beveridge, Archbishop Temple and R. H. Tawney,rather than the liberalism of Schumpeter and Keynes.