This chapter will consider economic dynamics as the result of changes taking place in an historically given sequence of time periods1 – that is, it will examine the changes of an economy in time (rather than the virtual adjustments characterizing an economy of time).2 In particular, the economic system will be described as subject to changes that cannot be undone, or can only partially be so. As will be clear from the following discussion, the latter assumption (which is associated with the irreversibility of time) suggests a specific set of analytical questions and calls for the utilization of particular methods of analysis. For the purpose of the present discussion, it may be useful to distinguish between:

1 the descriptive approach; 2 the analytical approach; 3 combination of the descriptive and analytical approaches.