The Atlas of Economic Complexity

I had the pleasure to meet Professor Ricardo Hausmann and listen to his lecture at the Harvard Kennedy School as part of a course for WEF Young Global Leaders. One of his main thesis is that the well being of a country is directly tied to economic complexity, having a multitude of interrelated and complex economic sectors. This ties in very well with the idea that well being of an economy is tied to creativity and knowledge, because to have economic complexity requires doing different things, and creating new sectors and products. 

On this web site is interactive graphs which look at the economic complexity of countries, and also a free to download book. This book is an excellent resource and it is amazing that it is released for free. 

The main aim of the book is to explain and examine economic complexity which can be summarized by a quote in the opening chapters:

“Economic complexity, therefore, is expressed in the composition of a country’s productive output and reflects the structures that emerge to hold and combine knowledge.”

I highly recommend anyone who wants to understand about the essential need for creativity in society to read this book.