Exploring the foundations of complexity economics from process ontology to generative explanation

This paper argues that the foundations of complexity economics can be clarified through a coherent framework centered on process, historical time, reflexivity, and emergence. It examines how this processual ontology shapes a generativist conception of explanation and supports methodological approaches such as agent-based modeling. Particular attention is given to the concept of emergence, which links ontology, explanation, and methodology while providing a common language for analyzing adaptive and evolving economic systems. Rather than viewing complexity economics as a mere collection of tools, the paper interprets it as a research program whose identity stems from the coherent articulation of its ontological, epistemological, methodological, and conceptual dimensions. Its contribution lies not in replacing methodological pluralism, but in providing a framework capable of organizing diverse approaches around shared ontological and epistemological principles.