Complex Systems Theory and Development Practice: Understanding Non-Linear Realities

In this text, development studies encounters what is popularly known as "chaos theory" - ideas which in the natural sciences have usurped Newtonian certainties about the simple linearity of physical phenomena, causality and certainty. The author applies this to the processes of economic development ideas like uncertainty, complexity and unpredictability. Ranging over evolving economic thinking, specific country experiences and development issues, the book applies the key concepts developed by complex adaptive systems thinking. He looks at various aspects of the development process and demonstrates the limitations of linear thinking in an essentially non-linear world.