Why Information Grows

Cesar Hidalgo

1,529 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by Basic Books, US, 2017

0465096840 / 9780465096848

  • Softcover
  • New
See all details

Seller: Rarewaves USA United, HEBRON, KY, U.S.A.Rarewaves USA United

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 20, 2025

Softcover

Condition: New

£ 17.20

£ 37.10 shipping 
Ships within U.S.A.

Quantity: Over 20 available

Add to basket
Free 30-day returns

Item description from seller

"Hidalgo has made a bold attempt to synthesize a large body of cutting-edge work into a readable, slender volume. This is the future of growth theory." --Financial Times 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 according to MIT's antidisciplinarian Cesar Hidalgo, understanding the nature of economic growth demands transcending the social sciences and including the natural sciences of information, networks, and complexity. To understand the growth of economies, Hidalgo argues, we first need to understand the growth of order. At first glance, the universe seems hostile to order. Thermodynamics dictates that over time, order-or information-disappears. Whispers vanish in the wind just like the beauty of swirling cigarette smoke collapses into disorderly clouds. But thermodynamics also has loopholes that promote the growth of information in pockets. Although cities are all pockets where information grows, they are not all the same.For every Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Paris, there are dozens of places with economies that accomplish little more than pulling rocks out of the ground. So, 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, firms, and the networks they form make use of information. Seen from Hidalgo's vantage, economies become distributed computers, made of networks of people, and the problem of economic development becomes the problem of making these computers more powerful. By uncovering the mechanisms that enable the growth of information in nature and society, Why Information Grows lays bear the origins of physical order and economic growth. Situated at the nexus of information theory, physics, sociology, and economics, this book propounds a new theory of how economies can do not just more things, but more interesting things.…

Seller Inventory # LU-9780465096848

Title
Why Information Grows
Author
Cesar Hidalgo
Publisher
Basic Books, US
Publication year
2017
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
Language
English
ISBN 10
0465096840
ISBN 13
9780465096848
Item weight
263 grams

Rarewaves USA United

HEBRON, KY, U.S.A.

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 20, 2025

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Item30 to 30 business days14 to 14 business days
First item£ 37.10£ 49.71
Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay

Seller's business information

Rarewaves USA

10100 West Sample Road, Ste 101
Coral Springs, FL U.S.A. 33065