IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v15y2025i3p65-d1607433.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using Digital Tools to Understand Global Development Continuums

Author

Listed:
  • J. de Curtò

    (Department of Computer Applications in Science & Engineering, BARCELONA Supercomputing Center, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
    Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (ICAI), Universidad Pontificia Comillas, 28015 Madrid, Spain
    Estudis d’Informàtica, Multimèdia i Telecomunicació, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain)

  • I. de Zarzà

    (Estudis d’Informàtica, Multimèdia i Telecomunicació, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
    Departamento de Informática e Ingeniería de Sistemas, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain)

Abstract

Traditional classifications of global development, such as the developed/developing dichotomy or Global North/South, often oversimplify the intricate landscape of human development. This paper leverages computational tools, advanced visualization techniques, and mathematical modeling to challenge these conventional categories and reveal a continuous development spectrum among nations. By applying hierarchical clustering, multidimensional scaling, and interactive visualizations to Human Development Index (HDI) data, we identify “development neighborhoods”—clusters of countries that exhibit similar development patterns, sometimes across geographical boundaries. Our methodology combines network theory, statistical physics, and digital humanities approaches to model development as a continuous field, introducing novel metrics for development potential and regional inequality. Through analysis of HDI data from 193 countries (1990–2022), we demonstrate significant regional variations in development trajectories, with Africa showing the highest mean change rate (28.36%) despite maintaining the lowest mean HDI (0.557). The implementation of circle packing and radial dendrogram visualizations reveals both population dynamics and development continuums, while our mathematical framework provides rigorous quantification of development distances and cluster stability. This approach not only uncovers sophisticated developmental progressions but also emphasizes the importance of continuous frameworks over categorical divisions. The findings highlight how digital humanities tools can enhance our understanding of global development, providing policymakers with insights that traditional methods might overlook. Our methodology demonstrates the potential of computational social science to offer more granular analyses of development, supporting policies that recognize the diversity within regional and developmental clusters, while our mathematical framework provides a foundation for future quantitative studies in development economics.

Suggested Citation

  • J. de Curtò & I. de Zarzà, 2025. "Using Digital Tools to Understand Global Development Continuums," Societies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-26, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:65-:d:1607433
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/3/65/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/3/65/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin Hilbert, 2016. "Big Data for Development: A Review of Promises and Challenges," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(1), pages 135-174, January.
    2. Ravallion, Martin, 2012. "Troubling tradeoffs in the Human Development Index," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 201-209.
    3. Hausmann, Ricardo & Hidalgo, Cesar, 2014. "The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262525429, December.
    4. Ignat Kulkov & Julia Kulkova & Rene Rohrbeck & Loick Menvielle & Valtteri Kaartemo & Hannu Makkonen, 2024. "Artificial intelligence ‐ driven sustainable development: Examining organizational, technical, and processing approaches to achieving global goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2253-2267, June.
    5. Thomas Holtfort & Andreas Horsch, 2023. "Social science goes quantum: explaining human decision-making, cognitive biases and Darwinian selection from a quantum perspective," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 99-116, August.
    6. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    7. Sagar, Ambuj D. & Najam, Adil, 1998. "The human development index: a critical review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 249-264, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bahar, Dany & Rosenow, Samuel & Stein, Ernesto & Wagner, Rodrigo, 2019. "Export take-offs and acceleration: Unpacking cross-sector linkages in the evolution of comparative advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 48-60.
    2. Jeni Klugman & Francisco Rodríguez & Hyung-Jin Choi, 2011. "The HDI 2010: new controversies, old critiques," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(2), pages 249-288, June.
    3. Naima Chrid & Sami Saafi & Mohamed Chakroun, 2021. "Export Upgrading and Economic Growth: a Panel Cointegration and Causality Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(2), pages 811-841, June.
    4. Caitlin Allen Whitehead & Haroon Bhorat & Robert Hill & Tim Köhler & François Steenkamp, 2021. "The Potential Employment Implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies: The Case of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector," Working Papers 202106, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    5. Panagiotis Ravanos & Giannis Karagiannis, 2023. "Correction: A VEA Benefit-of-the-Doubt Model for the HDI," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 793-796, November.
    6. Bogang Jun & Aamena Alshamsi & Jian Gao & Cesar A Hidalgo, 2017. "Relatedness, Knowledge Diffusion, and the Evolution of Bilateral Trade," Papers 1709.05392, arXiv.org.
    7. Diogo Ferraz & Fernanda P. S. Falguera & Enzo B. Mariano & Dominik Hartmann, 2021. "Linking Economic Complexity, Diversification, and Industrial Policy with Sustainable Development: A Structured Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, January.
    8. Olimpia Neagu, 2019. "The Link between Economic Complexity and Carbon Emissions in the European Union Countries: A Model Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-27, August.
    9. Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Broekel, Tom & Diodato, Dario & Giuliani, Elisa & Hausmann, Ricardo & O'Clery, Neave & Rigby, David, 2022. "Reprint of The new paradigm of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    10. Jonathan Emenike Ogbuabor & Christian Agu & Benjamin Udoka Onah & Chinasa E. Urama, 2025. "Economic Complexity and Sectoral Performance in Africa: The Role of Economic Governance Institutions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 4557-4576, June.
    11. Vu, Trung V., 2020. "Economic complexity and health outcomes: A global perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    12. Behrooz Shahmoradi & Reza Hafezi & Payam Chiniforooshan, 2024. "Industrial Development Policies Based on Economic Complexity Under Plausible Scenarios: Case of Iran 2027," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 6578-6603, June.
    13. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2021. "Augmented human development in the age of globalization," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(4), pages 946-975, November.
    14. Jesus Felipe & John McCombie & Aashish Mehta, 2025. "Is anything left of the debate about the sources of growth in East Asia 30 years later? A critical survey," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 247-280, April.
    15. Evgeniy Kutsenko & Sabyasachi Tripathi & Kirill Tyurchev, 2023. "Does complementarity matter for the emergence of new specialization industries in the regions of Russia?," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(9), pages 2126-2155, December.
    16. Viktor Stojkoski & Zoran Utkovski & Ljupco Kocarev, 2016. "The Impact of Services on Economic Complexity: Service Sophistication as Route for Economic Growth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-29, August.
    17. Mealy, Penny & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2017. "Economic Complexity and the Green Economy," INET Oxford Working Papers 2018-03, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, revised Feb 2019.
    18. Marwil J. Dávila-Fernández, 2018. "Alternative Approaches to Technological Change when Growth is BoPC," Department of Economics University of Siena 795, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    19. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2024. "The quality of Aid for Trade flows and economic complexity," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 705-747, October.
    20. Robert Hill & Leigh Neethling & Morné Oosthuizen, 2024. "From Coal to Chlorophyll. Identifying Green Job Opportunities for Youth during South Africa’s Just Transition," Working Papers 202406, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:65-:d:1607433. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.