35 Years of Econophysics I

Interdisciplinary Physics and Economics

Abstract

The computing and Internet revolutions of the last few decades has radically changed the world. Academic research has slowly but surely moved into the realm of interdisciplinary studies, with the opening up of artificial borders that were largely the consequence of a lack of communication between the different disciplines. One of the most significant sciences to emerge from this trend has been Econophysics, a young interdisciplinary field that combines the natural sciences with the social sciences. We review in this paper the emergence of this field in qualitative terms, to set the stage for further papers which will explore the technical consequences of the interaction between the two sciences