The paper analyzes the network structure of international trade. Adapting a network approach developed in the physical sciences, we propose that international trade functions like a scale-free network. For each commodity group we calculate a characteristic parameter which reflects the structure...

Global supply chains reshaped international trade since the 1980s. Their role in explaining the trade collapse that followed the financial crisis of September 2008 was determinant. Because manufacture production is internationally fragmented, adverse external shocks affect firms not only through...

In this paper we analyse the role of the international trade network for the strength of the global recession across countries. The novelty of our paper is the use of value-added trade data to capture the importance of trade network structure. We estimate with BMA techniques how far network...

The Silk Roads were a decentralized network of trade routes that connected ancient cities across Eurasia. Goods, ideas, people, and technology moved along the roads for over 1,500 years. Using a detailed georeferenced map of the entire trade network, this paper finds that areas within 50 KM of...

We examine how trade sanctions can be imposed effectively in a trading network. We focus on three factors that affect trade sanctions: a country’s endowment, distance between trading countries, and connectivity in the network. Our models explain several empirical observations: (i) sanctions...