IDENTIFYING KEY COUNTRIES IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS THROUGH INTERCENTRALITY MEASURES Luis ORTEGA-SEGURA Roberto C. OROZCO Cinthia MÁRQUEZ-MORANCHEL Abstract In this paper we used a set of measures of "centrality groups" to identify groups of countries which are the key actors of global production networks. These measures take into account the global and regional nature of international production processes and are derived from Social Networks Analysis (SNA). The information framework for these purposes are the input-output matrices of the countries considered in the WIOD. Traditional measures in the SNA to find the key actors (in our case, countries) start to see an actor within the network as a single entity and through its relation to all the other countries in the network. Recently there have been measures of named “centrality groups" and it has been shown that a measure of centrality that makes a particular player qualify is not equal to the measure obtained, for the same player, derived from a group to whom the player belongs in the same network. Identifying actors that are the most important individuals in a network is different from selecting a set of actors that are, as a group, the key players. Thus, the role of an actor individually can be very different from its role in a subset of actors of the entire network. In our case, this measure (called intercentrality) tries to identify the contribution of a group of countries in the cohesion of the global production network, so their cohesion implies strategic complementarities among countries. Moreover, within the context of the World-System approach, countries may be sorted hierarchically or classified according to a series of characteristics (economic, social, political and cultural) into three regions: core, semi-periphery and periphery. However, there is still the problem of clearly defining inclusion in any of those regions of countries when considered individually, through economic indicators such as output, income or trade. In this exercise, we investigated the relevance of using an extended centrality index that includes groups of countries to define their inclusion on each of the regions proposed by the World-Economy approach, taking into account the global production network (40 countries), both in terms of gross value and value added. Keywords: input-output, key player, centrality, intercentrality,
IDENTIFYING KEY COUNTRIES IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS THROUGH INTERCENTRALITY MEASURES Luis ORTEGA-SEGURA Roberto C. OROZCO Cinthia MÁRQUEZ-MORANCHEL Abstract In this paper we used a set of measures of "centrality groups" to identify groups of countries which are the key actors of global production networks. These measures take into account the global and regional nature of international production processes and are derived from Social Networks Analysis (SNA). The information framework for these purposes are the input-output matrices of the countries considered in the WIOD. Traditional measures in the SNA to find the key actors (in our case, countries) start to see an actor within the network as a single entity and through its relation to all the other countries in the network. Recently there have been measures named “centrality of groups" and it has been shown that a measure of centrality that makes a particular player qualify is not equal to the measure obtained, for the same player, derived from a group to whom the player belongs in the same network. Identifying actors that are the most important individuals in a network is different from selecting a set of actors that are, as a group, the key players. Thus, the role of an actor individually can be very different from its role in a subset of actors of the entire network. In our case, this measure (called intercentrality) tries to identify the contribution of a group of countries in the cohesion of the global production network, so their cohesion implies strategic complementarities among countries. Moreover, within the context of the World-System approach, countries may be sorted hierarchically or classified according to a series of characteristics (economic, social, political and cultural) into three regions: core, semi-periphery and periphery. However, there is still the problem of clearly defining inclusion in any of those regions of countries when considered individually, through economic indicators such as output, income or trade. In this exercise, we investigated the relevance of using an extended centrality index that includes groups of countries to define their inclusion on each of the regions proposed by the World-Economy approach, taking into account the global production network (40 countries), both in terms of gross value and value added. Keywords: input-output, key player, centrality, intercentrality,
2123_20150601091_INTERCENTRALIDAD(v.2)original_1aversion22052015.docx