ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the important research traditions which can shape the future development of evolutionary economics. It discusses the key elements in an evolutionary approach to economic change. The chapter elaborates that the biological research tradition has now acquired a richness and complexity that is far beyond the boundaries. In more modern terms one would say that Schumpeter attached a great importance to radical innovations as ingredients of economic development. One important influence on the development of modern evolutionary thinking comes from non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Organisations and technologies tend to show some continuity in the course of time, although the pace of change can be much faster and more discontinuous than in biological evolution. The concept of population is one of the fundamental concepts in biology. The fundamental contrast between the biological and the economic world is that in the latter, the generation of variety is purposeful.
