W. Brian Arthur

W. Brian Arthur is an economist and complexity scientist who currently serves as External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and Visiting Researcher at PARC's Intelligent Systems Lab. He is best known for pioneering the modern study of increasing returns in the economy, demonstrating how positive feedback loops magnify small random events and allow dominant technologies or firms to lock in market share. He previously held the Morrison Chair of Economics and Population Studies at Stanford University from 1983 to 1996 and was the first director of the Santa Fe Institute's Economics Program.