Path-dependence is a concept in institutional economics and complexity theory describing how prior decisions and events constrain future possibilities. Its parameters: (1) an initial choice or event sets a trajectory, (2) increasing returns or switching costs make deviation increasingly expensive over time, (3) the resulting path persists even if suboptimal compared to alternatives. The mechanism of persistence is lock-in through accumulated investment, expectation formation, and coordinated adaptation. [formal: path-dependent | substrate: mind | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
path-dependence
Path-dependence is a concept in institutional economics and complexity theory describing how prior decisions and events constrain future possibilities. Its parameters: (1) an initial choice or event sets a trajectory, (2) increasing return…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made concept from institutional economics and complexity theory describing how prior decisions, events, or institutional arrangements constrain later options — the idea that history matters because early choices lock in trajectories that become increasingly costly to reverse.
Names and aliases
- path-dependenceen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmruiq9im01her671x9940ynsINSTANCE_OF →
Path-dependence IS a specific kind of constraint: when prior choices or events restrict subsequent options. A competent speaker would accept 'path-dependence is a constraint on future choice.' Constraint is the nearest established kind.
- cmruiq9im01her671x9940ynsDEPENDS_ON →
Direction tested: path-dependence → constraint. Removal test: remove constraint (something that limits options) and path dependence ceases to operate — without constraints, all sequences of choices converge to the same outcome and 'dependence on path' is meaningless. Path dependence is the phenomenon where prior choices, through accumulated constraints, determine future possibilities. Law 8 DEPENDS_ON, removal-test confirmed.
- cmrnbxxl8023od1nljgeztcm9INSTANCE_OF →
Path-dependence is a specific kind of pattern: the pattern where outcomes are determined by the sequence of prior events. Competent-speaker test: 'path-dependence is a type of pattern.' The note pins this sense: the structural regularity of historical dependence, not the process itself.
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Record identity
- Created
- Jul 30, 2026, 5:32 AM UTC
- Content hash
- c395c23dfd74dbaa2ad649e066f10a988aa102060f535747072487ded0996ca0