Coevolutionary Development
Term
Coevolutionary Development
Idea level
Theory
Definition
Coevolutionary Development is a theory developed by Yuen Yuen Ang that explains political-economic development as an endogenous (bicausal) process in which markets and institutions evolve together over time, rather than in a linear sequence. The theory specifies a three-step coevolutionary process: (1) development begins by repurposing what exists—including normatively weak institutions—to build new markets; (2) emerging markets stimulate and enable the creation of stronger institutions; and (3) these institutions subsequently preserve and govern mature markets.
Sources
First articulation and empirical demonstrations:
Ang, Yuen Yuen. How China Escaped the Poverty Trap (2016):
Chapter 1 (theoretical model and method of mapping coevolution)
Chapter 5 (case study: Forest Hill City)
Chapter 6 (case study: Blessed vs. Humble County)
Conclusion (comparative applications to Europe, the U.S., and Nigeria)
Appendix A: Steps for Mapping Coevolution
Theoretical synthesis:
Ang, Yuen Yuen. “Adaptive Political Economy: Toward a New Paradigm.” World Politics (2024).
Genealogy
[Paradigm] AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive, Moral Political Economy)
→ [Pillar] Adaptive Political Economy (APE)
→ [Theory] Coevolutionary Development
→ [Method] Mapping Coevolution: Mapping Coevolution: specifies steps for mapping coevolution (Appendix A) and accompanying data collection strategy (Appendix B)
→ [Application: Development] Comparative and historical demonstrations across China, Europe, the U.S., and Nigeria
Contrast with
[Paradigm] Industrial–Colonial Paradigm
→ [Pillar] Mechanical thinking (linear causality)
→ [Concept] Chicken-and-egg fallacy of development
→ [Application: Development] False sequencing debates on “growth first” vs. “good institutions first”
Quotes
“My first task is to develop a method for systematically mapping the coevolution of states and markets… My empirical approach generates multiple snapshots of reciprocal feedbacks between states and markets. When these snapshots are strung in sequence, it reveals a causal logic that integrates and yet departs sharply from the conclusions of conventional theories.”
- Ang, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, Introduction (p. 11-12)
“Coevolutionary narratives with teeth strive to reveal mutual causal influences between two (or more) domains of interest: for example, how a particular bureaucratic adaptation affects the economy, how subsequent economic changes feedback to the bureaucracy, so on and on, in a zigzag causal chain.”
- Ang, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, Mapping Coevolution (p. 24-25)
“What common pattern do we see? My answer is shown in Figure 3. In its most distilled form, development is best understood as a three-step, coevolutionary process: Step 1: Harness normatively weak institutions to build new markets. Step 2: Emerging markets stimulate and enable strong (modern) institutions. Step 3: Strong (modern) institutions preserve markets.”
- Ang, Adaptive Political Economy (2024)
[Insert Illustrative Figures]
Alternative Expressions of “Coevolutionary Development”
Development as coevolutionary, not linear
Non-linear coevolutionary process
Development as a three-step, coevolutionary Process
Coevolutionary approach to development
Mapping coevolution
Coevolutionary dynamics / framework
Endogenous state-market feedback
Concept Constellation
Across Ang’s work, Coevolutionary Development consistently co-appears with the following concepts and analytic themes:
Adaptive Political Economy
Complex ≠ complicated
Endogeneity (mutual causation)
Chicken-and-egg fallacy of development
Directed improvisation
Mapping coevolution (method for tracing reciprocal feedbacks over time)
Market-building vs. market-preserving institutions (stage-variant institutional functions)
Using what you have (repurposing normatively weak arrangements to kickstart growth)