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Science 24 July 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5939, pp. 422 - 425
DOI: 10.1126/science.1173644
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Perspective

Economic Networks: The New Challenges

Frank Schweitzer,1,* Giorgio Fagiolo,2 Didier Sornette,1,3 Fernando Vega-Redondo,4,5 Alessandro Vespignani,6,7 Douglas R. White8

The current economic crisis illustrates a critical need for new and fundamental understanding of the structure and dynamics of economic networks. Economic systems are increasingly built on interdependencies, implemented through trans-national credit and investment networks, trade relations, or supply chains that have proven difficult to predict and control. We need, therefore, an approach that stresses the systemic complexity of economic networks and that can be used to revise and extend established paradigms in economic theory. This will facilitate the design of policies that reduce conflicts between individual interests and global efficiency, as well as reduce the risk of global failure by making economic networks more robust.

1 ETH Zurich, D-MTEC, Kreuzplatz 5, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
2 Laboratorio di Economia e Management (LEM), Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Piazza Martiri della Liberta 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
3 Swiss Finance Institute, c/o University of Geneva, 40 Boulevard Du Pont d’Arve, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
4 Economics Department, European University Institute, Via della Piazzuola 43, 50133 Firenze, Italy.
5 Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Economicas, Calle Guardia Civil, 22 esc. 2 no 1, 46020 Valencia, Spain.
6 School of Informatics and Pervasive Technology Institute, Indiana University, 919 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408, USA.
7 Institute for Scientific Interchange, 10133 Torino, Italy.
8 Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California, 3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fschweitzer{at}ethz.ch

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)