pre_text: Liquidity and Capital Resources Working Capital The following table summarizes our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, net and working capital, for the periods indicated (in thousands): We define working capital as current assets minus current liabilities. Our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2019 are available for working capital purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading purposes, and our investment policy is to invest any excess cash in short term, highly liquid investments that limit the risk of principal loss; therefore, our cash and cash equivalents are held in demand deposit accounts that generate very low returns.
table: As of December 31,
table: 2019 2018 2017
table: Cash and cash equivalents $119,629 $146,061 $96,329
table: Accounts receivable, net 76,373 49,510 40,634
table: Working capital 167,879 152,793 119,433
question: Analyse this data from a financial earnings document. What was the change in working capital between 2017 and 2018?