Summary
I present a neural network model for the spontaneous emergence of enterprises following a dynamic approach to firm formation in the tradition started by Adam Smith and further pursued by Joseph Schumpeter. I suggest that the “natural propensity to truck and barter” is the observable behaviour of self-interested economic actors who are continually exposed to and confronted with an environment complexity, which transcends their limited cognitive and computational capabilities. In their learning process they build networks of relations with other agents. It is this interaction among heterogeneous agents that often leads to the formation of successful organizations that completely solve the original problem. Firms can be seen simultaneously as the result of the entrepreneurs induction process, but also as the essential instrument for the elaboration of a solution to the problem. Increasing returns to scale and market size find in this framework a very natural representation. The role of competition for the nurturing of efficiency, and the issue of protection of infant industries can be tackled by this model.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bruun, C. and F. Luna 2000, “Endogenous Growth with Cycles in a Swarm Economy: Fighting Time, Space, and Complexity,” in Luna F. and B. Stefansson, Economic Simulations in Swarm. Agent-Based Modelling and Object Oriented Programming, Amsterdam, Kluwer Academic Press.
Caudill, M. and C. Butler 1990, Naturally Intelligent Systems, MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts
Gallant, S.I. 1993, Neural Networks Learning and Expert Systems, MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts.
Gold, M.E. 1965, “Limiting Recursion”, The Journal of Symbolic Logic, 30,1, 28–48.
Gold, M.E. 1967, “Language Identification in the Limit”, Information and Control, 10, 447–474.
Kasliwal, P. 1997, “A Cellular Automata Model of Schumpeterian Growth”, paper prepared for the conference Computing in Economics and Finance, Stanford 30 June–2 July 1997.
Kihlstrom, R.E. and J.J. Laffont, 1979, “A General Equilibrium Entrepreneurial Theory of Firm Foundation Based on Risk Aversion”, Journal of Political Economy, 87, 719–748.
Laussel, D. and M. Le Breton, 1995, “A General Equilibrium Theory of Firm Formation Based on Individual Unobservable Skills”, European Economic Review, 39, 1303–1319.
Li, M. and P.M.B. Vitanyi, 1992, “Inductive Reasoning and Kolmogorov Complexity”, Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 44, 343–384.
Luna, F. 1996, “From the History of Astronomy to the Wealth of Nations: Wonderful Wheels and Invisible Hands in Adam Smiths Major Works”, Vaz, D. and K. Velupillai eds. Inflation, Institutions and Information, MacMillan Press, London.
Minsky, M. and S. Papert 1969, Perceptrons: An Introduction to Computational Geometry, MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts.
Penrose, E. 1959, The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Roger, H. Jr 1967, Theory of Recursive Functions and Effective Computability, McGraw-Hill, New York N. Y.
Schumpeter, J.A. 1975, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Harper and Row Publishers, New York.
Simon, H.A. 1978, “Rationality as Process and as Product of Thought”, American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 68,2, 1–16.
Smith, A. 1976, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Smith, A. 1980, The Principles Which Lead and Direct Philosophical Enquires; Illustrated by the History of Astronomy. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Smith, A. 1983, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Luna, F. (2005). Firm Creation as an Inductive Learning Process: A Neural Network Approach. In: Leskow, J., Punzo, L.F., Anyul, M.P. (eds) New Tools of Economic Dynamics. Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, vol 551. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28444-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-28444-3_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-24282-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-28444-4
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)