During the Cold War era these memes were enriched by the new scientific narratives of 'path dependency' and 'patrimonialism', of which Richard Pipes was the most significant proponent.
Both 'path dependency' and 'patrimonialism' are superseded.
Lock-in with respect to decision-making (on large infrastructure projects) is created when sub-optimal policies are used as a consequence of e.g. path dependency, even though a better alternative is present.
Agent-based models also can be used to identify lever points, defined as moments in time in which interventions have extreme consequences, and to distinguish among types of path dependency.
Lookback options are a type of exotic option with path dependency, among many other kind of options.
A key concept is path dependency: the historical track of a given institution or polity will result in almost inevitable occurrences.
It generates path dependency, which refers to local rules of interaction that change as the system evolves and develops.
Much of Nicholas Kaldor's work was based on the ideas of increasing returns to scale, path dependency, and the key differences between the primary and industrial sectors.
The theory of path dependency explains why bootleg innovations are (most often) in line with the strategic objectives of the firm: corporate competencies define the search paths for its future.
It is a classic instance of path dependency: Once a course is chosen, it is difficult to induce people to switch.