Positive Linking

How Networks Can Revolutionise the World

Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History
Cover of the book Positive Linking by Paul Ormerod, Faber & Faber
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Paul Ormerod ISBN: 9780571279227
Publisher: Faber & Faber Publication: July 3, 2012
Imprint: Faber & Faber Language: English
Author: Paul Ormerod
ISBN: 9780571279227
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication: July 3, 2012
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Language: English

According to Paul Ormerod, author of the bestselling Butterfly Economics and Why Most Things Fail, the mechanistic viewpoint of conventional economics is drastically limited - because it cannot comprehend the vital nature of networks. As our societies become ever more dynamic and intertwined, network effects on every level are increasingly profound. 'Nudge theory' is popular, but only part of the answer. To grapple successfully with the current financial crisis, businesses and politicians need to grasp the perils and possibilities of Positive Linking.

Our social and economic worlds have been revolutionised by a massive increase in our awareness of the choices, decisions, behaviours and opinions of other people. For the first time in human history, more than half of us live in cities, and this combined with the Internet has transformed communications. Network effects - the fact that a person can and often does decide to change his or her behaviour simply on the basis of copying what others do - pervade the modern world.

As Ormerod shows, network effects make conventional approaches to policy, whether in the public or corporate sectors, much more likely to fail. But they open up the possibility of truly 'Positive Linking' - of more subtle, effective and successful policies, ones which harness our knowledge of network effects and how they work in practice.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

According to Paul Ormerod, author of the bestselling Butterfly Economics and Why Most Things Fail, the mechanistic viewpoint of conventional economics is drastically limited - because it cannot comprehend the vital nature of networks. As our societies become ever more dynamic and intertwined, network effects on every level are increasingly profound. 'Nudge theory' is popular, but only part of the answer. To grapple successfully with the current financial crisis, businesses and politicians need to grasp the perils and possibilities of Positive Linking.

Our social and economic worlds have been revolutionised by a massive increase in our awareness of the choices, decisions, behaviours and opinions of other people. For the first time in human history, more than half of us live in cities, and this combined with the Internet has transformed communications. Network effects - the fact that a person can and often does decide to change his or her behaviour simply on the basis of copying what others do - pervade the modern world.

As Ormerod shows, network effects make conventional approaches to policy, whether in the public or corporate sectors, much more likely to fail. But they open up the possibility of truly 'Positive Linking' - of more subtle, effective and successful policies, ones which harness our knowledge of network effects and how they work in practice.

More books from Faber & Faber

Cover of the book The Knowledge by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Isle of Dogs by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Humor by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Night by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Siamese White by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Fried & Justified by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Tweeting the Universe by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book William Wordsworth by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book The Rise and Fall of the British Nanny by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book The Beast by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book The Sum by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Writing Left-Handed by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book This Is Memorial Device by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Most Interesting by Paul Ormerod
Cover of the book Archie Greene and the Raven's Spell by Paul Ormerod
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy