Teoria systemów gospodarczych w pracach J. Kornaia

Abstract

The article presents synthetically the views of J. Kornai on constructing mathematical models of economic processes. Since Kornai aims at formulating a descriptive- explanatory theory of economic systems, it makes it necessary to abandon the optymalization approach. Kornai focuses his attention on diachronic, not a synchronic, description of a system. His analyses are of qualitative character. Kornai's conception of the economic system is based on a distinction between a real sphere and a control sphere. This is why each mathematical model of the economic system should be composed of functions describing separately the changes in those two spheres. Changing the reaction functions belonging to the control sphere, one can investigate how the real sphere functions in conditions of different mechanisms of management. The operation of the control sphere is based on so-called autonomous functions of the economic system. They concern routine actions which repeat simple patterns of behaviour. In those so-called standard decision- making processes an important role is played by norms and by non-price information concerning the level of stock and the portfolio of orders.