Can Neoclassical Economics Handle Complexity? The Fallacy of the Oil Spot Dynamic

Magda Fontana (1)

1 Department of Economics "S. Cognetti de Martiis"

This paper is essentially a rebuttal of the view that neoclassical economics can handle complexity. I have coined the locution 'oil spot dynamic' to denote the neoclassical ability to subsume each and every new perspective. The main part of the paper is devoted to showing why the oil spot dynamic cannot work with the complexity approach, which is seen as a coherent stand-alone research program that stems from the SFI Economics Program and manifests itself with different nuances.

Keywords: Complexity Theory; History of Economic Ideas; Samuelsonian Paradigm; B41 (Economic Methodology); B59 (Current Heterodox Approaches-Other)

Domains: Quantitative Finance [q-fin]

Magda Fontana. Can Neoclassical Economics Handle Complexity? The Fallacy of the Oil Spot Dynamic. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2010, 76 (3), pp.584. ⟨10.1016/j.jebo.2010.08.010⟩. ⟨hal-00911826⟩