Special Issue: Coevolution and Dynamic Processes

Coevolution in economic systems has been recently defined, in a formal way, as a type of process in which several evolving populations within a complex system causally influence each other, in such a way that the multi-directional influences shape their respective innovation/variation, replication and/or selection processes. In this way, the multiple evolving populations linked by coevolution become dynamically co-determined (Almudi and Fatas-Villafranca, 2022; 2021).

Clearly, this notion builds upon the evolutionary economic paradigm focused on representing contemporary societies as evolving systems (see, for example, Nelson and Winter, 1982; Metcalfe, 1998; Foster and Metcalfe, 2001; Witt, 2003; Nelson, 2005; 2018) in the general sense that these systems continuously change from within, through processes which involve the selection of heterogeneous (boundedly-rational) competing organizations and agents, the uneven replication of embodied traits (routines, habits), and the ongoing generation of novelties.

Although the aforementioned definition focuses on the specific needed conditions for coevolution processes to occur, the importance of coevolution in explaining dynamic processes has been pointed out by a wide variety of authors who have approached the coevolution phenomenon from very different evolutionary perspectives (hayekian, post- keynesian, veblenian, institutionalism, neo-schumpeterian, historicist school, evolutionary-naturalistic approach and complexity economics). These approaches have covered up a vast type of socio-economic and nature-based dynamic processes (see, for example, Gowdy, 1994; Dosi and Coriat, 1998; McKelvey and Baum, 1999; Nelson, 2001; Van den Berg and Stagl, 2003; Murmann, 2003; 2013; Dopfer and Potts, 2008; Dosi and Roventini, 2019; Gual and Norgaard, 2010; Freeman, 2019, Hanappi, 2020 and Liu et al., 2021). This rich variety of approaches highlights the importance of understanding how coevolution processes are linked to structural changes observed at multiple levels in social systems of all kind (economic, cultural, natural, societal, philosophical). To explore this variety of possibilities is the objective of this special issue.

Therefore, in this call we invite to submit contributions from different fields of knowledge (economics, philosophy of science, history of technology, biology, sociology, political science), as long as those papers deal with the coevolution phenomenon under any of the evolutionary approaches mentioned before (hayekian, post- keynesian, veblenian, institutionalism, neo-schumpeterian, historicist school, evolutionary-naturalistic approach and complexity economics). Specifically, we are inviting papers analysing dynamic processes focussed on the coevolution mechanisms involved. All types of methodologies, from heuristics, philosophy and history to dynamic mathematical models (ABMs, simulation models, complex networks), are welcome.

REPE supports ‘online first publishing’. Papers will be published online upon acceptance after having been peer-reviewed by 2-3 independent reviewers, which may be earlier than the publication date of the full issue.

All selected contributions will go through a full peer review process according to the usual standards of REPE.