Complex systems and economic development

Presented at the GLOBELICS 6th International Conference 2008 22-24 September, Mexico City, Mexico.This paper is based on an application of complex systems' approach to economics with the objective of explaining the micro, meso and macroeconomic mechanisms of development. The complex systems' approach makes it possible to tackle the problem of evolution and economic development under conditions of temporal irreversibility, non-linear change and radical uncertainty. This study emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the absorption and connectivity capacities and processes of structural change, creative destruction and appropriation. It shows that capacities and processes interact according to two complex systems' properties: self-organization and adaptation, which account for economic development. In addition, the paper presents some policy issues that derived from the analytical approach of complex systems