Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/157876 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
Working Papers on Capital as Power No. 2016/04
Publisher: 
Forum on Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism, s.l.
Abstract: 
Why do institutions grow? Despite nearly a century of scientific effort, there remains little consensus on this topic. This paper offers a new approach that focuses on energy consumption. A systematic relation exists between institution size and energy consumption per capita: as energy consumption increases, institutions become larger. I hypothesize that this relation results from the interplay between technological complexity and human biological limitations. I also show how a simple stochastic model can be used to link energy consumption with firm dynamics.
Subjects: 
complexity
energy
human biology
institutions
hierarchy
technology
URL of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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