Communication and Coordination Strategies: Essays on the Emergence and Evolution of Economic Complexity

Economic complexity, like all other forms of complexity, evolved over time, from early Homo sapiens-sapiens to modern man. The rise of economic civilization was punctuated by a number of technology shocks, including the development of large-scale agriculture, the improvement of the steam engine by James Watt, and the application of electro-magnetic power by Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. An oft-ignored fact, however, is that the basic knowledge/research underlying all three innovations predated each of the three epochs. There is evidence of rudimentary agriculture at least 4,000 years prior to the first Mesopotamian cities. Likewise, the principles of steam power were known in ancient Rome. Electro-magnetic power had been developed in the mid-1800's in Great Britain. In all three cases, something else was needed, something ultimately tied to the organization of complexity, namely the appropriate communication and coordination strategy. This work is one of the first of its kind to examine the various theoretical aspects of communication and coordination strategies, and use the findings to shed light on important epochs of our history.

Bernard C. Beaudreau is professor of economics at Université Laval, Québec City, Canada. His research interests range from theoretical economics to economic history.