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Adam Smith On The Future Of Experimental Evolution And Economics, Maria Pia Paganelli
Adam Smith On The Future Of Experimental Evolution And Economics, Maria Pia Paganelli
Economics Faculty Research
Experimental evolution is difficult to apply to humans because of the need to study possible changes over many generations. A similar method, though, may see history as a substitute for experiments. The 18th century economist Adam Smith uses methods compatible with the logic of experimental evolution, through the assumption of human homogeneity and the study of history, to explain endogenous variations of preferences and institutions.