It is not an overstatement to say that this is THE book to read if you want to learn anything about an emerging view of why and how countries grow.
A key take-away for me is the importance of assessing development, not in terms of what people can buy, but instead what people can make. This knowledge and know-how, Cesar describes, is embodied in the products that countries exchange with each other. He thus proposes a new way of thinking about international trade as really an exchange of crystals of imagination (i.e., the products that embody knowledge and know-how).
A key take-away for me is the importance of assessing development, not in terms of what people can buy, but instead what people can make. This knowledge and know-how, Cesar describes, is embodied in the products that countries exchange with each other. He thus proposes a new way of thinking about international trade as really an exchange of crystals of imagination (i.e., the products that embody knowledge and know-how).
As to why some places exhibit more "imagination" or crystalization thereof (or make more sophisticated products) he offers an explanation grounded on the difficulties of fostering "links" to create dense networks from which individual "personbytes" can be combined to make more imaginative products. Transaction costs make it difficult to bring knowledge and know-how together. Things like a common language help lower these costs and allow diverse people from across the world to collaborate at places like Harvard and MIT to bring new products to life.
A must read!
I read once somewhere : " students in harvard think it is easier to do a project and make money rather than working for a company after graduation". If books such as this are the resources that motivate thise thoughts, we should also encourage it in UKM :D though the distance between UKM and Harvard and MIT is like 2 parsec :D
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