Understanding a Complex World

This chapter motivates why complexity economics is needed. It characterizes complexity economics as an economic theory of fundamental change and nonequilibrium phenomena. The opening chapter outlines some of the political, technological, scientific, and environmental changes that have occurred over the past 30 years and that will continue to shape our world for the next 30 years. Our world is undergoing fundamental transformations caused, among other things, by climate change and advances in information technology. Unlike mainstream economics, complexity economics views most societal challenges as wicked problems rather than tame problems. Dealing with these wicked problems and the great societal challenges of our time requires twenty-first century skills that can be acquired through the study of complexity economics.