"If we did not have a patent system, it would be irresponsible, on the basis of our present knowledge of its economic consequences, to recommend instituting one. But since we have had a patent system for a long time, it would be irresponsible, on the basis of our present knowledge, to recommend...

We present the basic mechanisms of Genetic Algorithms and some significant applications of these algorithms in economics. The article also provides a representative reference list on this topic.

Convergence to the Nash equilibrium in a Cournot oligopoly is a question that recurrently arises as a subject of controversy in economics. The development of evolutionary game theory has provided an equilibrium concept more directly connected with adjustment dynamics, and the evolutionary...

Convergence to the Nash equilibrium in a Cournot oligopoly is a question that recurrently arises as a subject of controversy in economics. The development of evolutionary game theory has provided an equilibrium concept more directly connected with adjustment dynamics, and the evolutionary...

This article analyses the possibility of firms learning collusive solutions in a Cournot quantity game. Starting from the results of Vallée and Yildizoglu (2009) and of Alos-Ferrer (2004), we study the role of random experimenting, social learning (imitation), and (updated) memory in helping...

Early evolutionary models of industry dynamics have used very simple ways of modeling bounded rationality. In the precursory work of Nelson and Winter (1982), for example, R&D decisions of firms are given by a fixed rule: firms invest in each period a fixed proportion of their capital stock in...

This article aims to test the relevance of learning through genetic algorithms, in contrast to fixed R&D rules, in a simplified version of the evolutionary industry model of Nelson and Winter. These two R&D strategies are compared from the points of view of industry performance (welfare) and...