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The Relation Between Global Migration and Trade Networks

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  • Paolo Sgrignoli
  • Rodolfo Metulini
  • Stefano Schiavo
  • Massimo Riccaboni

Abstract

In this paper we develop a methodology to analyze and compare multiple global networks. We focus our analysis on the relation between human migration and trade. First, we identify the subset of products for which the presence of a community of migrants significantly increases trade intensity. To assure comparability across networks, we apply a hypergeometric filter to identify links for which migration and trade intensity are both significantly higher than expected. Next we develop an econometric methodology, inspired by spatial econometrics, to measure the effect of migration on international trade while controlling for network interdependencies. Overall, we find that migration significantly boosts trade across sectors and we are able to identify product categories for which this effect is particularly strong.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Sgrignoli & Rodolfo Metulini & Stefano Schiavo & Massimo Riccaboni, 2013. "The Relation Between Global Migration and Trade Networks," Papers 1310.3716, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:1310.3716
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    Cited by:

    1. Rodolfo Metulini & Stefania Tamea & Francesco Laio & Massimo Riccaboni, 2016. "The Water Suitcase of Migrants: Assessing Virtual Water Fluxes Associated to Human Migration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Lanz, Rainer & Lee, Woori & Stolzenburg, Victor, 2019. "Distance, formal and informal institutions in international trade," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2019-03, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
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    4. Sgrignoli, Paolo & Metulini, Rodolfo & Schiavo, Stefano & Riccaboni, Massimo, 2015. "The relation between global migration and trade networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 417(C), pages 245-260.
    5. Giorgia Giovannetti & Filippo Santi & Margherita Velucchi, 2024. "“Migrants know better”: migrants’ networks and FDI," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 41(1), pages 85-121, April.
    6. Albert Millogo & Ines Trojette, 2020. "Pro-trade effects of MENA immigrants in France: does governance matter?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(4), pages 3219-3230.
    7. Wang, Chao & Zhang, Xinyi & Ghadimi, Pezhman & Liu, Qian & Lim, Ming K. & Stanley, H. Eugene, 2019. "The impact of regional financial development on economic growth in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region: A spatial econometric analysis," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 521(C), pages 635-648.
    8. Wang, Chao & Zhang, Xinyi & Vilela, André L.M. & Liu, Chao & Stanley, H. Eugene, 2019. "Industrial structure upgrading and the impact of the capital market from 1998 to 2015: A spatial econometric analysis in Chinese regions," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 513(C), pages 189-201.
    9. Gao, Cuixia & Tao, Simin & He, Yuyang & Su, Bin & Sun, Mei & Mensah, Isaac Adjei, 2021. "Effect of population migration on spatial carbon emission transfers in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    10. Antonios Garas & Athanasios Lapatinas & Konstantinos Poulios, 2016. "The Relation Between Migration And Fdi In The Oecd From A Complex Network Perspective," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(06n07), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Shamnaaz Sufrauj & Stefano Schiavo & Massimo Riccaboni, 2015. "Big hits, export concentration and volatility," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 32(2), pages 135-166, August.
    12. Rodolfo Metulini & Massimo Riccaboni & Paolo Sgrignoli & Zhen Zhu, 2017. "The Indirect Effects of FDI on Trade: A Network Perspective," Working Papers 04/2017, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, revised Mar 2017.
    13. Lillo, Felipe & García, Leidy & Santander, Valentín, 2017. "Dynamics of global remittances: A graph-based analysis," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 64-71.
    14. Rodolfo Metulini & Paolo Sgrignoli & Stefano Schiavo & Massimo Riccaboni, 2018. "The network of migrants and international trade," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(3), pages 763-787, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation

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