Evolution Models of Economics:A Classification and Analysis

Since the emergence of economics, scholars have begun to pay attention to the evolution models of this discipline.From a temporal perspective, the main debate revolves around the opposition between the “cumulative view” and the “competitive view” of the development of economics, resulting in two types of “incremental model theories” — the Marshallian model and the Reinertian model, and four types of “revolutionary mode theories” — the Kuhnian model, the Lakatosian-Hutchisonian model, the Hegelian-Marxian model, and the Schumpeterian model.In terms of spatial dimension, three representative evolution model theories have been formed around the divergence between the “convergent view” and the “divergent view” of the evolution of economics, namely transfer model, variation model, and differentiation model.The research on these evolution models urgently needs to clarify and summarize the “stylized facts” about the development of economics.Based on this, we can draw on the research approaches of sociology of scientific knowledge and economics of scientific knowledge, deeply analyze and examine the complex evolutionary drivers and mechanisms behind them, and then systematically construct the theory of spatiotemporal evolution models in economics within a unified spatiotemporal framework.This study not only helps to understand the future development trends of economics, but also provides historical basis and empirical inspiration for the construction of Chinese economics system.