Complex networks and econophysics
Over the last decades, an interdisciplinary community of scientists, especially physicists, has carried out both empirical and theoretical investigations aimed at understanding economic and financial systems within the framework of complex systems. This approach, which defines the so-called field of Econophysics, differs from the one traditionally adopted in mainstream economics in various respects. First of all, emphasis is put on induction from empirical evidence to theoretical models, rather than deduction from strict and often ureasonable mathematical assumptions about the expected behaviour of individuals. Second, the preferred objects of analysis are large socio-economic systems with many uderlying units, which often interact with each other forming intricate networks with a complex topology. In this talk, Diego Garlaschelli will briefly introduce various examples of complex networks encountered in Econophysics,and then focus in particular on the World Trade Web formed by the import-export relationships among all world countries.