The book ranges from subtle theoretical analyses of the nature of choice to highly explicit mathematical modeling, from the theory of the firm to the theory of bureaucratic agencies. It is very engagingly written, and conveys extremely well the dilemma that must haunt any social scientist worth his salt: the necessity of choosing between realism ism and simplicity as guides to theory construction.
   --Jon Elster, London Review of Books

[An] extremely interesting book...This volume increases one's confidence that, after all these years, Schumpeter's intuition can be stated in a formally respectable way, and therefore that the field of industrial organization can begin solving its most important problems.
   --Journal of Comparative Economics

An important and interesting book.
   --Journal of Political Economy

The book spans an enormous literature--dealing with economics as a process, evolutionary modeling, Schumpeterian competition, organization form, and the like--and performs important interpretive and integrative functions. Mainly, however, the book represents a significant original research contribution in both methodological and substantive respects. It will influence teaching, research, and public policy relating to complex economic systems for years to come. While the book is written by and primarily for economists, it is broadly conceived and should impact social science research quite generally.
   --Oliver Williamson, University of Pennsylvania

Richard R. Nelson is George Blumenthal Professor of International and Public Affairs, Business, and Law, Emeritus, at Columbia University.

Read More by Richard R. Nelson:

• The Sources of Economic Growth
• Technology, Institutions, and Economic Growth