Towards a Science of Complexity in Spatial-Economic Systems

Conventional (spatial) economic equilibrium models have usually taken for granted the existence of well-behaved functional forms of state equations, so that existence conditions for optimal solutions could in principle be established. Irregular behaviour was an exception in the tradition of equilibrium analysis. Recent years have witnessed among economists an increasing popularity of nonlinear dynamic models. The wide range of theories and reflections on evolutionary dynamic systems reflects the continuously rising interest of economists in ‘economics without equilibrium’ (Kaldor 1985). Kaldor notes in the Okun Memorial Lectures: “it seems clear that if we are to get out of the present impasse we must begin by constructing a different kind of abstract model, one that recognizes from the beginning that time is a continuing and irreversible process; that it is impossible to assume the constancy of anything over time, such as the supply of labour or capital, the psychological preferences for commodities, the nature and number of commodities, or technical knowledge” (Kaldor 1985 p 61).