Journal of International Business Studies

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Journal of International Business Studies, 2007

We combine data on international trade linkages with network methods to examine the global trading system as an interdependent complex network. We map the topology of the international trade network, and suggest new network-based measures of international economic integration, at both a global system-wide level and a local country level. We develop network-based measures that incorporate not only the volume of trade but also the influence that a country has on the international trading system. These measures incorporate the structure and function of the network, and may provide a more meaningful approach to globalization than current measures based on trade volumes. We find that, in terms of participation and influence in the network, global trade is hierarchical, with a core-periphery structure at higher levels of trade, though integration of smaller countries into the network increased considerably over the 1990s. The network is strongly 'balkanized' according to geography of trading partners, but not as strongly by income or legal origin. Using these new measures we find that a country's position in the network has substantial implications for economic growth. We therefore suggest that a network approach to international economic integration has potential for useful applications in international business, finance and development.

2016

In this paper we compare the degree and patterns of trade and financial integration exploiting network analysis. We start from a simple binary analysis and then move to a more appropriate weighted approach, presenting a detailed overview of interna-tional goods and financial markets integration, and compare their main characteris-tics. Moving from binary to weighted analysis changes considerably the properties of the networks, and with them the picture of the integration process. Limiting to a binary approach can thus lead to a misrepresentation of the underlying economic phenomena. We find that the trade network is almost fully connected while inter-national financial integration is less pervasive. Also, regional links continue to play a relevant role.

Regional Economic Development Research, 2021

With the rise and fall of the trade shares of different countries in the world, does the trade network structure change at the same time? Do the dynamics of countries’ positions differ in the evolution of trade network structure? Based on the latest world input-output database (WIOD), this paper illustrates the accounting models of international trade, and describes the dynamics of the global trade network structure and the countries’ positions. Research shows that China and the emerging countries developed faster than the developed countries during 2000-2014, and play important roles, not only in the trade shares, but also in global trade networks. The innovation of this study is that we present a systemic and explicit portrait of the global pattern of trade linkages between countries based on a set of social network analysis methods, and we find that the dynamic of linkage network is more violative than that of linkage flow.

Quantitative Finance, 2010

In this paper we compare the degree and patterns of trade and financial integration exploiting network analysis. We start from a simple binary analysis and then move to a more appropriate weighted approach, presenting a detailed overview of international goods and financial markets integration, and compare their main characteristics. Moving from binary to weighted analysis changes considerably the properties of the networks, and with them the picture of the integration process. Limiting to a binary approach can thus lead to a misrepresentation of the underlying economic phenomena. We find that the trade network is almost fully connected while international financial integration is less pervasive. Also, regional links continue to play a relevant role.

2010

This paper uses the tools of network analysis to assess the different characteristics of world trade in different manufacturing industries. The structure of the trade networks is compared to understand to what extent the world market characteristics differ between sectors. We find that in some sectors the structure of trade flows gives rise to a dense, widespread network with many links, while in others we observe a centered network, organized around hubs that centrally coordinate the flows. The results indicate a pattern of network structures, showing a positive correlation between the goods' complexity and the network complexity, changing the extent of the relevant market and its structure across goods.

SSRN Electronic Journal

This paper employs network analysis to study world trade from 1995 to 2014. We focus on the main connective features of the world trade network (WTN) and their dynamics. Results suggest that countries' efforts to attain the benefits of trade have resulted in an intertwined network that is increasingly dense, reciprocal, and clustered. Trade linkages are distributed homogeneously among countries, but their intensity (i.e. their value) is highly concentrated in a small set of countries. The main connective features of the WTN were not affected by the 2007-2008 international financial crisis. However, we find that the crisis marks a turning point in the evolution of the WTN from a twogroup (led by the US and Germany) to a three-group (led by the US, Germany, and China) hierarchical structure; gravity models of international trade may explain this evolution. Furthermore, we find that WTN's connective features do not conform to a linear aggregation of sectorial trade networks.

The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 2010

Over the past four decades the High Performing Asian Economies (HPAE) have followed a development strategy based on the exposure of their local markets to the presence of foreign competition and on an outward oriented production. In contrast, Latin American Economies (LATAM) began taking steps in this direction only in the late eighties and early nineties, but before this period these countries were more focused in the implementation of import substitution policies. These divergent paths have led to sharply different growth performance in the two regions. Yet, standard trade openness indicators fall short of portraying the peculiarity of the Asian experience, and to explain why other emerging markets with similar characteristics have been less successful over the last 25 years. This paper offers an alternative perspective on the issue by exploiting recently-developed indicators based on weighted network analysis. This allows us to investigate the whole structure of international trade relationships and to determine both the position of HPAE countries in the network and its evolution over time. We show that HPAE countries are more integrated into the world economy, as they have moved -over the past 25 years -from the periphery of the network towards its core. In contrast, the LATAM region seems to be loosing presence within the network or, at best, its integration process has remained stagnant.

2011

This paper uses the tools of network analysis to graphically and analytically represent the characteristics of world trade integration. The structure of the World Trade Network is compared over time, detecting and interpreting patterns of trade ties among countries. The results show that trade integration at the world level has been increasing but it is still far from being complete, with the exception of some areas, that there is a strong heterogeneity in countries'connection to trade partners, and that WTO members are more integrated than the rest of the world.

DRUID Summer Conference 2007 on Appropriability, …, 2010