Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies

In Why Information Grows, rising star César Hidalgo offers a radical interpretation of global economics What is economic growth? And why, historically, has it occurred in only a few places? Previous efforts to answer these questions have focused on institutions, geography, finances, and psychology. But MIT professor César Hidalgo argues that in order to fully grasp the nature of economic growth we need to transcend the social sciences and turn to the science of information, networks and complexity. The growth of economies, he explains, is deeply connected with the growth of order - or information. At first glance, the universe seems hostile to order. Thermodynamics dictates that over time, order will disappear. But thermodynamics also has loopholes that promote the growth of information in pockets. Our cities are such pockets where information grows, but they are not all the same. For every Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and London, there are dozens of places with underdeveloped economies. Why does the US economy outstrip Brazil's, and Brazil's that of Chad? Why did the technology corridor along Boston's Route 128 languish while Silicon Valley blossomed? In each case, the key is how people, companies, and the networks they form process information - it is all about their knowledge, knowhow and imagination. As Hidalgo compellingly shows, economies are made of networks of people and society is a collective computer. The problem of economic development is in fact the problem of making these networks more powerful. A radical new interpretation of global economics, Why Information Grows overturns traditional assumptions about the development of economies and the origins of wealth and takes a crucial step toward making economics less the dismal science and more the insightful one.

About the Author :
César Hidalgo leads the Macro Connections group at the MIT Media Lab. A trained statistical physicist and an expert on Networks and Complex Systems, he also has extensive experience in the field of economic development and has pioneered research on how big data impacts economic decision-making.

Review :
A bold attempt to synthesise a large body of cutting-edge work into a readable, slender volume... his thought-provoking book deserves to be widely read Mr Hidalgo succeeds brilliantly in bringing his complex subject to life. His book is full of nuggets, from memorable phrases to interesting metaphors [Hidalgo's] innovative thinking about what drives growth could help us to navigate the turbulence of the ever more interconnected global economy... He has iden-tified a fertile seam Why Information Grows shows us how humans infuse information into matter, making it more valuable than gold. Hidalgo's work brilliantly spotlights the true alchemy of the twenty-first century and its impact from economic complexity to national competitiveness Economies are built out of information. This has been true from the Stone Age to our knowledge economy today. Yet until César Hidalgo's breakthrough book, we have not had a deep account as to how and why this is so. This exciting, important book is a major step toward a twenty-first century theory of growth This beautifully written and carefully researched book may set in motion a paradigm shift in economic thinking. Blending deep theory with detailed data, Hidalgo demonstrates that countries grow, firms prosper, and individuals thrive when they enmesh themselves in diverse, talented networks that produce complex physical order, i.e. information. Why do economies grow? Because information does The diverse set of perspectives that César Hidalgo brings to the eternal question of growth-from economic development theories to big data mining engines to elegantly crafted visualizations-underlies the central thesis of Why Information Grows: diversity. Including many diverse perspectives will ultimately create maximum complexity and chaos, which ultimately creates growth. Hidalgo makes a powerful case for the importance of creativity and imagination in our society's ability to make information-and economies-grow