Measuring Globalization: Network Approach to Countries' Global Connectivity Rates and Their Evolution in Time

Abstract

Traditional approaches to measuring countries' levels of globalization mostly rely on index compilation. This paper presents a new method of estimating the countries' global connectivity rates based on the degree of their involvement into the global networks of transborder flows and relations. We apply the concept of k-core from network analysis to estimate the level of countries' involvement into global networks. Changes in the countries' structural positions within these networks affect their overall connectivity rankings. In our analysis we take into account four types of networks, such as trade in goods, trade in services, foreign direct investment, and migration. However, the method easily allows for adding other networks (when sufficient data is available).