Complexity and Paradigm Change in Economics

Eric Beinhocker and Jenna Bednar

INET Oxford Working Papers from Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

Abstract: Since the first volume in this series (Anderson, Arrow & Pines, 1987), a variety of scholars have claimed that complexity economics presents a fundamentally different and more scientifically grounded way of explaining and modelling the economy than more traditional perspectives. Looking back at over thirty-five years of development in the field, this essay argues that complexity economics is not merely an alternative and advantageous set of methods for understanding the economy but could play a critical role in the construction of a new economic paradigm. Complexity economics is part of a broader interlocking set of ideas—an "ontological stack"—that has the potential to supplant the dominant economic paradigms of the twentieth century. The development of such a paradigm would have major implications for economic policy and politics. The essay concludes with a discussion of what can be done to advance the complexity economics agenda and how such a paradigm might be developed.

Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2025-10
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