In this podcast, physicist César Hidalgo from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology explains why he thinks physics could help us to understand economics – and in particular why some nations are financially stronger than others. Speaking to Matin Durrani – editor of Physics World – Hidalgo explains how concepts such as information, order and organization are key to that understanding. To him, economies are networks of individuals and people – and what is important is how know-how spreads from one place to another and also why that knowledge sometimes fails to spread