IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v7y2020i1d10.1057_s41599-020-00651-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bridging nestedness and economic complexity in multilayer world trade networks

Author

Listed:
  • Zhuo-Ming Ren

    (Hangzhou Normal University)

  • An Zeng

    (Beijing Normal University
    University of Fribourg)

  • Yi-Cheng Zhang

    (Hangzhou Normal University
    University of Fribourg)

Abstract

Understanding the complexity of international trading is critical for a variety of issues ranging from quantifying the competitiveness of individual nations to forecasting the collective evolution of the world economy. Despite the significant progress made in this direction, the international trading system is mainly modeled with a single network in the previous works such as the monopartite product space network and the bipartite country-product network to capture economic complexity. In order to better capture the more detailed dynamics, we characterize the international trading system with a multilayer network with each layer representing the transnational trading relations of a product. This framework immediately reveals the nested structure in each layer and accordingly allows us to develop an alternative measure of the complexity of products. The metric provides a ranking of products’ complexity more consistent with common understanding. The nested structure of a network layer seems to correlate with the asymmetric export relations resulted from the technology barriers, and the evolution of product complexity indicates that the growth of product nestedness is faster than the relevance decay. Finally, we remark a comparison of trade competitive by nestedness between China and the United States to explore the evolution of the economy industries, and the aggregated nestedness index can predict a nation’s future economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhuo-Ming Ren & An Zeng & Yi-Cheng Zhang, 2020. "Bridging nestedness and economic complexity in multilayer world trade networks," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:7:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-020-00651-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-020-00651-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-020-00651-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-020-00651-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matteo Barigozzi & Giorgio Fagiolo & Diego Garlaschelli, 2009. "Multinetwork of international trade: A commodity-specific analysis," Papers 0908.1879, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2010.
    2. Fabio Saracco & Riccardo Di Clemente & Andrea Gabrielli & Tiziano Squartini, 2015. "Detecting early signs of the 2007-2008 crisis in the world trade," Papers 1508.03533, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2016.
    3. , D. & Tessone, Claudio J. & ,, 2014. "Nestedness in networks: A theoretical model and some applications," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(3), September.
    4. Meghnad Desai & Sakiko Fukuda-Parr & Claes Johansson & Fransisco Sagasti, 2002. "Measuring the Technology Achievement of Nations and the Capacity to Participate in the Network Age," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 95-122.
    5. Giorgio Fagiolo & Tiziano Squartini & Diego Garlaschelli, 2013. "Null models of economic networks: the case of the world trade web," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 8(1), pages 75-107, April.
    6. Hartmann, Dominik & Guevara, Miguel R. & Jara-Figueroa, Cristian & Aristarán, Manuel & Hidalgo, César A., 2017. "Linking Economic Complexity, Institutions, and Income Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 75-93.
    7. Jianxi Gao & Baruch Barzel & Albert-László Barabási, 2016. "Universal resilience patterns in complex networks," Nature, Nature, vol. 530(7590), pages 307-312, February.
    8. Rossana Mastrandrea & Squartini Tiziano & Giorgio Fagiolo & Diego Garlaschelli, 2014. "Reconstructing the world trade multiplex: the role of intensive and extensive biases," Post-Print hal-01113938, HAL.
    9. Sebastián Bustos & Charles Gomez & Ricardo Hausmann & César A Hidalgo, 2012. "The Dynamics of Nestedness Predicts the Evolution of Industrial Ecosystems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-8, November.
    10. Agata Fronczak & Piotr Fronczak, 2011. "Statistical mechanics of the international trade network," Papers 1104.2606, arXiv.org, revised May 2012.
    11. Serguei Saavedra & Rudolf P. Rohr & Luis J. Gilarranz & Jordi Bascompte, 2014. "How structurally stable are global socioeconomic systems?," Papers 1408.6973, arXiv.org.
    12. Manuel Sebastian Mariani & Zhuo-Ming Ren & Jordi Bascompte & Claudio Juan Tessone, 2019. "Nestedness in complex networks: Observation, emergence, and implications," Papers 1905.07593, arXiv.org.
    13. 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, April.
    14. Luiz G. A. Alves & Giuseppe Mangioni & Isabella Cingolani & Francisco A. Rodrigues & Pietro Panzarasa & Yamir Moreno, 2018. "The nested structural organization of the worldwide trade multi-layer network," Papers 1803.02872, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2019.
    15. Samuel Jonhson & Virginia Domínguez-García & Miguel A Muñoz, 2013. "Factors Determining Nestedness in Complex Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-7, September.
    16. Cesar A. Hidalgo & Ricardo Hausmann, 2009. "The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity," Papers 0909.3890, arXiv.org.
    17. Luca De Benedictis & Lucia Tajoli, 2011. "The World Trade Network," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(8), pages 1417-1454, August.
    18. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    19. Dirk Helbing, 2013. "Globally networked risks and how to respond," Nature, Nature, vol. 497(7447), pages 51-59, May.
    20. Tiziano Squartini & Guido Caldarelli & Giulio Cimini & Andrea Gabrielli & Diego Garlaschelli, 2018. "Reconstruction methods for networks: the case of economic and financial systems," Papers 1806.06941, arXiv.org.
    21. Anthony Nasir & Tariq Mahmood Ali & Sheikh Shahdin & Tariq Ur Rahman, 2011. "Technology achievement index 2009: ranking and comparative study of nations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(1), pages 41-62, April.
    22. Matthieu Cristelli & Andrea Tacchella & Luciano Pietronero, 2015. "The Heterogeneous Dynamics of Economic Complexity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    23. Fabio Saracco & Riccardo Di Clemente & Andrea Gabrielli & Tiziano Squartini, 2015. "Randomizing bipartite networks: the case of the World Trade Web," Papers 1503.05098, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2015.
    24. Ugo Bastolla & Miguel A. Fortuna & Alberto Pascual-García & Antonio Ferrera & Bartolo Luque & Jordi Bascompte, 2009. "The architecture of mutualistic networks minimizes competition and increases biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7241), pages 1018-1020, April.
    25. Alex James & Jonathan W. Pitchford & Michael J. Plank, 2012. "Disentangling nestedness from models of ecological complexity," Nature, Nature, vol. 487(7406), pages 227-230, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paolo Bartesaghi & Gian Paolo Clemente & Rosanna Grassi, 2022. "Clustering coefficients as measures of the complex interactions in a directed weighted multilayer network," Papers 2206.06309, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    2. Ren, Zhuo-Ming & Zhao, Li & Du, Wen-Li & Weng, Tong-Feng & Liu, Chuang & Kong, Yi-Xiu & Zhang, Yi-Cheng, 2024. "Tunable resource allocation dynamics for interpreting economic complexity," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    3. Zhuoming Ren & Wenli Du & Ziyi Zhao & Li Zhao & Tongfeng Weng, 2024. "Strategies for selecting trading partners based on economic complexity of international trade networks: A comparison between Chinese and the US markets," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Bartesaghi, Paolo & Clemente, Gian Paolo & Grassi, Rosanna, 2023. "Clustering coefficients as measures of the complex interactions in a directed weighted multilayer network," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 610(C).
    5. Lizhi Xing & Shuo Jiang & Simeng Yin & Fangke Liu, 2024. "Substitution effect of Asian economies on China’s industrial and supply chains: from the perspective of global production network," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Max Sina Knicker & Karl Naumann-Woleske & Michael Benzaquen, 2024. "The Structure of Occupational Mobility in France," Papers 2407.14179, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2024.
    7. Yijun Liu & Xiaokun Jin & Yunrui Zhang, 2024. "Identifying risks in temporal supernetworks: an IO-SuperPageRank algorithm," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Zhao Li & Ren Zhuoming & Zhao Ziyi & Weng Tongfeng, 2024. "Topological perturbations on resilience of the world trade competition network," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.

    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. Ren, Zhuo-Ming & Zhao, Li & Du, Wen-Li & Weng, Tong-Feng & Liu, Chuang & Kong, Yi-Xiu & Zhang, Yi-Cheng, 2024. "Tunable resource allocation dynamics for interpreting economic complexity," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    2. Mika J. Straka & Guido Caldarelli & Tiziano Squartini & Fabio Saracco, 2017. "From Ecology to Finance (and Back?): Recent Advancements in the Analysis of Bipartite Networks," Papers 1710.10143, arXiv.org.
    3. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. Buhari Doğan & Oana M. Driha & Daniel Balsalobre Lorente & Umer Shahzad, 2021. "The mitigating effects of economic complexity and renewable energy on carbon emissions in developed countries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Lapatinas, Athanasios, 2019. "The effect of the Internet on economic sophistication: An empirical analysis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 35-38.
    7. Olimpia Neagu & Mircea Constantin Teodoru, 2019. "The Relationship between Economic Complexity, Energy Consumption Structure and Greenhouse Gas Emission: Heterogeneous Panel Evidence from the EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-29, January.
    8. Antonis Adam & Antonios Garas & Marina-Selini Katsaiti & Athanasios Lapatinas, 2023. "Economic complexity and jobs: an empirical analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 25-52, January.
    9. Bustos, Sebastián & Yıldırım, Muhammed A., 2022. "Production Ability and economic growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    10. Antonios Garas & Sophie Guthmuller & Athanasios Lapatinas, 2021. "The development of nations conditions the disease space," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-35, January.
    11. Angelica Sbardella & Andrea Zaccaria & Luciano Pietronero & Pasquale Scaramozzino, 2021. "Behind the Italian Regional Divide: An Economic Fitness and Complexity Perspective," LEM Papers Series 2021/30, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    12. Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Broekel, Tom & Diodato, Dario & Giuliani, Elisa & Hausmann, Ricardo & O'Clery, Neave & Rigby, David, 2022. "The new paradigm of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(3).
    13. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2021. "Do Unilateral Trade Preferences Help Reduce Poverty in Beneficiary Countries?," EconStor Preprints 247346, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    14. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Nguyen, Bach & Duy Tung, Bui & Dinh Su, Thanh, 2021. "Economic complexity and entrepreneurship density: A non-linear effect study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    15. 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.
    16. Hartmann, Dominik & Guevara, Miguel R. & Jara-Figueroa, Cristian & Aristarán, Manuel & Hidalgo, César A., 2017. "Linking Economic Complexity, Institutions, and Income Inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 75-93.
    17. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2023. "Do unilateral trade preferences help reduce poverty in beneficiary countries?," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 249-288, February.
    18. Hidalgo, César A., 2023. "The policy implications of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    19. Olivera Kostoska & Sonja Mitikj & Petar Jovanovski & Ljupco Kocarev, 2020. "Core-periphery structure in sectoral international trade networks: A new approach to an old theory," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, April.
    20. Canh Phuc Nguyen & Thanh Dinh Su, 2021. "Financing the economy: The multidimensional influences of financial development on economic complexity," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 644-684, May.

    More about this item

    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:pal:palcom:v:7:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-020-00651-3. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.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.