Matchmakers and Markets : The Revolutionary Role of Information in the Economy

To understand the bewildering complexities of consumer markets and financial markets, you'll need to look beyond traditional textbooks. This book aims to better understanding of current markets through studying the implications of living in an information age. It examines the impacts that information has on how markets function, and presents a novel market theory in which information takes centre stage when analyzing how the economy functions and evolves. It depicts markets with three categories of actors (consumers, businesses, and information intermediaries), and predicts the growing importance of the role of information intermediaries, or 'matchmakers', as facilitators of transactions between consumers and businesses. Matchmakers and Markets will guide readers to reflect on their own role in the economy. It provides numerous scenarios and examples from the real-world economy, enabling readers to ask new questions and draw their own conclusions. The aim of this book is to stimulate the reader's own thinking, whether a consumer on the high street, or an investor on Wall Street, a policy maker in the government armchair, or an entrepreneur dreaming to make the next big thing in the world. This book will stir up discussion and debate as the claims and conclusions move away from mainstream theories. To understand the bewildering complexities of consumer markets and financial markets, you'll need to look beyond traditional textbooks. This book aims to better understanding of current markets through studying the implications of living in an information age. It examines the impacts that information has on how markets function, and presents a novel market theory in which information takes centre stage when analyzing how the economy functions and evolves. It depicts markets with three categories of actors (consumers, businesses, and information intermediaries), and predicts the growing importance of the role of information intermediaries, or 'matchmakers', as facilitators of transactions between consumers and businesses.0'Matchmakers and Markets' will guide readers to reflect on their own role in the economy. It provides numerous scenarios and examples from the real-world economy, enabling readers to ask new questions and draw their own conclusions. The aim of this book is to stimulate the reader's own thinking, whether a consumer on the high street, or an investor on Wall Street, a policy maker in the government armchair, or an entrepreneur dreaming to make the next big thing in the world. This book will stir up discussion and debate as the claims and conclusions move away from mainstream theories "The book presents a novel theory on current markets. It helps us understand how the information ecology is important to how the markets work, and how our economy functions and evolves. Numerous scenarios and examples allow readers to reflect on their own roles in the economy and give them new tools to analyse social-economic phenomena" This text presents a novel theory on current markets. It helps us understand how the information ecology is important to how the markets work, and how our economy functions and evolves. Numerous scenarios and examples allow readers to reflect on their own roles in the economy and give them new tools to analyse social-economic phenomena Title_Pages Foreword_by_Berno_Buechel Foreword_by_JeanPhilippe_Bouchaud Preface Introduction Magic_Pie Matchmakers Personal_Assistant Diversification Financial_Markets Information_Markets From_Markets_to_the_Economy Man_and_the_Economy Evolving_Economy Paradigm_Shift Notes_and_References Index