Trade in economic development: Australia's trade network and firm behavior in generating macro-level structures

International trade plays a central role in economic growth. However, there is a need to better explain the mechanism through which this occurs. This paper uses complex network analysis to investigate the contribution international trade makes to growth in small population developed economies, with an emphasis on Australia. Using a longitudinal dataset, our empirical work investigates the opportunities available to these economies to improve their position within the international trade network, we explore one common tool for doing so (Free Trade Agreements), and we discuss the role that firm-level actions play in the generation of the macro-level patterns of trade and development. The latter uses case study data from eighteen Australian firms to discuss their processes of integration with the international trade network. This study highlights the utility of crossdisciplinary investigations between international business and network analyses of trade in exploring how the micro-level actions of firms generate the macro-level structure of the world trade network.