Economic Complexity Research Articles

The relationship between knowledge accumulation and gender norms

Gender norms, encompassing social and cultural attitudes that dictate suitable behaviors for women and men, are pivotal in shaping societal dynamics. This paper explores the intricate relationship between knowledge accumulation, as reflected in a nation’s economic complexity, and its gender norms. Drawing on the revealed preferences of a substantial cohort, totaling 64,954 individuals from up to 49 countries, and their respective countries’ economic complexity indices, we uncover a non-trivial relationship. At lower levels of economic complexity, there exists an inverse correlation between less rigid gender norms and technological sophistication. This suggests that the initial stages of knowledge accumulation coincide with inflexible gender norms, particularly regarding women’s roles within households. However, as economic complexity surpasses a certain threshold, this correlation reverses. Further knowledge accumulation aligns with more adaptable gender norms, indicating a shift towards less rigidity, especially concerning women’s roles in the public sphere. These findings underline the connection between economic development and shifting gender norms. Notably, while economic complexity catalyzes a transition towards less rigid norms regarding women’s household roles at lower stages, it is only at a certain threshold that significant changes in norms pertaining to women’s public roles become evident. This study contributes to understanding the evolution of gender norms in the context of economic development. By shedding light on the intricate dynamics between knowledge accumulation and gender norms, it emphasizes the significance of considering socioeconomic factors in addressing gender norms. Findings have implications for policymakers and stakeholders offering valuable insights into the mechanisms driving societal change.

Economic complexity and income inequality in Russian regions

Although economic growth leads to a reduction in poverty, the growing income inequality and its possible consequences are of some concern. The level of economic complexity has recently been increasingly viewed as an important predictor of income inequality. In this paper, using pool and models with time fixed effects, the impact of the economic complexity index on income inequality in Russian regions for 2013 and 2015 was estimated. The results of the evaluation of econometric models show that regions with more complex economies showed a higher level of income inequality compared to others. The explanations for the effect obtained include an increase in demand for highly qualified labor as a result of the development of high-tech industries and an increase in wage differentiation between high-skilled and low-skilled workers, as well as the migration of high-skilled workers to economically more complex regions. The main conclusion is that economic complexity is a significant factor of the variation in income inequality and should also be taken into account while conducting economic and social policy in Russian regions.

SCTC: inference of developmental potential from single-cell transcriptional complexity.

Inferring the developmental potential of single cells from scRNA-Seq data and reconstructing the pseudo-temporal path of cell development are fundamental but challenging tasks in single-cell analysis. Although single-cell transcriptional diversity (SCTD) measured by the number of expressed genes per cell has been widely used as a hallmark of developmental potential, it may lead to incorrect estimation of differentiation states in some cases where gene expression does not decrease monotonously during the development process. In this study, we propose a novel metric called single-cell transcriptional complexity (SCTC), which draws on insights from the economic complexity theory and takes into account the sophisticated structure information of scRNA-Seq count matrix. We show that SCTC characterizes developmental potential more accurately than SCTD, especially in the early stages of development where cells typically have lower diversity but higher complexity than those in the later stages. Based on the SCTC, we provide an unsupervised method for accurate, robust, and transferable inference of single-cell pseudotime. Our findings suggest that the complexity emerging from the interplay between cells and genes determines the developmental potential, providing new insights into the understanding of biological development from the perspective of complexity theory.

The nonlinear road to happiness: Making sense of ESGD impacts on well-being

This study examines the heterogeneous impact of environmental, social, governance, and digital (ESGD) factors on subjective well-being across 86 countries from 2005 to 2019, using Method of Moments Quantile Regression. The results reveal complex, nonlinear relationships between ESGD factors and well-being. CO2 emissions display an inverted U-curve, suggesting eventual negative impacts after initial gains. Our findings suggest that renewable energy only benefits higher quantiles, revealing affordability issues. Social and governance factors like labor participation and women's political participation relate nonlinearly to well-being across income levels, reflecting employment quality and social norms differences. Similarly, digital factors improve well-being in high-income countries but not lower-middle-income nations, due to economic complexity gaps and the digital divide. A “digital economy paradox” emerges where more digital skills combined with limited digital economies decrease well-being in lower-middle income countries signifying the need for tailored digital policies. This study enhances understanding of links between ESGD factors and well-being patterns.

Unleashing sustainability in uncertain times: Can we leverage economic complexity, uncertainty, and remittances to combat environmental degradation?

Rapid economic growth and human activities have seriously damaged the environment and hindered the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, this study aims to explore the impact of economic complexity, uncertainty, and remittance on environmental degradation in 134 countries from 2000 to 2022. In addition, it examines whether uncertainty moderates the relationship between remittance and environmental degradation. Two proxies (ecological footprint and CO2) were used to measure environmental degradation. The analysis was conducted using a cross-sectional dependency test, second-generation unit root test, and panel quantile regression. The results revealed that economic complexity significantly and positively impacted environmental degradation, while uncertainty and remittance significantly and negatively impacted environmental degradation. Furthermore, uncertainty weakened the negative relationship between remittance and environmental degradation. Accordingly, this paper discusses various recommendations and policy implications regarding economic complexity, uncertainty, remittance, and environmental degradation.

Modelling the contribution of green technologies, renewable energy, economic complexity, and human capital in environmental sustainability: Fresh evidence from BRICS countries

Green technological developments and investments are often observed as effective tools for the sustainability of carbon counteraction since they progress energy efficiency and unsoiled productivity. To do this, the main objective of the present paper is to inspect the effect of green technologies, economic complexity, renewable energy, and human capital on the ecological footprint of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) countries over the span of 1990–2020. Accordingly, this research applied novel and unconventional panel methods that offer reliable and robust estimated findings under slope heterogeneity and cross-dependency. The estimated results from cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag (CS-ARDL) presents that the influence of green technologies, human capital, and renewable energy significantly protects the environment. On the other hand, economic complexity damages the environment in the long run. Furthermore, the evidence confirms that the integrated role of renewable energy is also beneficial to protect the environment. Besides, the interactive role of green technologies and renewable energy significantly protect the environment. From a policy perspective, this article advocates that to accelerate green technological modernization in BRICS economies, including the regulatory strategies encouraging an incessant upsurge in the portion of green technologies, renewable energy, and human capital into ecological technological progress, it is very vital.

Land use practices in the estates of landlords in the late XIX – early XX century

Importance. Unequal resource provision of owners’ property and a significant shortage of peasant hay and forest lands, aggravated by overgrowth and far-earth land, determined the practice of economic relations between landlords and communal farms.Research Methods. The problem of land use in the landlord economy system of post-reform Russia remains one of the most difficult in agrarian historiography. In the writings of prerevolutionary historians, the modernization of estates is highlighted in the writings of conservatives who linked crisis moments in the economy of estates with insufficient state support for owners and liberal figures stratifying savings into labor and capitalist ones. In the works of Soviet historians, the modernization of the latifundia is severely criticized.Results and Discussion. Many landlords, taking advantage of the positive situation in the grain market, expanded production and established a diversified economic complex. These trends were especially strong in estates with sugar and distilleries. However, even during the period of maximum capitalist development of the agricultural sector, the predominant form of land use of Latifundists remained a combination of running their own farm and rental distributions.Conclusion. The transition from a serfdom to a productive economy was associated with the modernization of the field-growing complex of estates, the use of agricultural innovations. However, the active introduction of grass planting by owners and the mechanization of agriculture have long been combined with unproductive methods of agricultural development.

Natural resources, economic complexity and growth nexus: Role of digital governance in addressing the resource curse

The nexus between natural resources and economic growth can be significantly influenced by digital governance. Effective digital governance enhances transparency and efficiency in managing natural resources, reducing the risks of mismanagement and corruption. This can lead to more sustainable economic growth and support economic diversification. Understanding these dynamics is essential for policymakers and researchers aiming for inclusive growth in resource-dependent economies. Therefore, this study explores the relationship between natural resources, economic complexity and economic growth of BRICS countries from 2003 to 2022. It also explores the moderating role of digital governance in realizing the relationship between resources and growth. The research utilizes the Method of Moments Quantile Regression, which accounts for non-linearity and addresses concerns related to slope heterogeneity. The findings reveal that natural resource rents adversely affect economic growth, with a significantly negative impact at the lowest quantiles, while digital governance fosters economic growth at the middle to highest quantiles. The moderating effects of natural resources and digital governance suggest that digital governance helps break the cycle of the resource curse. Countries can enhance the marginal contribution of resources towards growth by increasing the digitalization of their systems and processes. Additionally, economic complexity contributes to higher economic growth, with its impact gradually increasing from lower to upper quantiles. Policymakers should consider digital governance as an effective tool for sustainable development.

Bibliometric review of research on economic complexity: current trends, developments, and future research directions

Bibliometric review of research on economic complexity: current trends, developments, and future research directions

Small countries facing the technological revolution: fostering synergies between economic complexity and foresight research

Purpose Although the significance of technological progress in economic development is well-established in theory and policy, it has remained challenging to agree upon shared priorities for strategies and policies. This paper aims to develop a model of how policymakers can develop effective and easy to communicate strategies for science, technology and economic development. Design/methodology/approach By integrating insights from economic complexity, competitiveness and foresight literature, a replicable research framework for analysing the opportunities and challenges of technological revolutions for small catching-up countries is developed. The authors highlight key lessons from piloting this framework for informing the strategy and policies for bioeconomy in Estonia towards 2030–2050. Findings The integration of economic complexity research with traditional foresight methods establishes a solid analytical basis for a data-driven analysis of the opportunities for industrial upgrading. The increase in the importance of regional alliances in the global economy calls for further advancement of the analytical toolbox. Integration of complexity, global value chains and export potential assessment approaches offers valuable direction for further research, as it enables discussion of the opportunities of moving towards more knowledge-intensive economic activities along with the opportunities for winning international market share. Originality/value The research merges insights from the economic complexity, competitiveness and foresight literature in a novel way and illustrates the applicability and priority-setting in a real-life setting.

International Trade and Income Inequality: The Case of Latin American Countries

ABSTRACT The literature suggests that international trade may have different results over income inequality according to a country’s trade and economic structure. The main goal of this article is to analyze the impact of international trade on income inequality in Latin American countries between 1997 and 2020. Our results suggest that international trade variables, such as trade openness and economic complexity, are highly significant and have impacted the income distribution. The results show that following the process of trade openness, the “simplification” of the economy led to a reduction in income inequality in the region.

Income inequality and economic complexity in Africa: the moderating role of governance quality

Income inequality and economic complexity in Africa: the moderating role of governance quality

The degree of economic development pattern of economy

In this article, we explore the concept and measurement of the degree of economic development pattern (DEDP) of economy, which refers to the extent to which the development of an economy can serve as a reference for other economies. Utilizing 76 macroeconomic indicators across 217 economies, the economic development paths in a standardized space of economy is compared to identify variations in DEDP through the regression analysis on the relationship between the similarity of development paths and the growth rate on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. To measure DEDP of economy from different perspective, two types of metrics are constructed. One is the determination coefficient of regression analysis, which exhibits significant positive correlations with population size of economy, uncovering differences of development paths among economies of varying population sizes. The other type of metrics is based on the consistency on regression coefficients and effectively explains disparities among economies in the growth rate on GDP per capita, economic complexity index and economic fitness. These findings reveal the differences in development paths among different countries from the perspective of referentiality for development patterns, suggesting the potential existence of the paths with more universal meaning to economic development.

Relationships between economic complexity, renewable energy uptake and environmental degradation: A global study

A persistent rise in the emission of CO2 among several economies in the world makes it challenging to fulfil the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals. The present study empirically examines the connection between economic complexity, which is understood to be structural conversion headed for more refined information-based production, renewable energy demand, per capita income, trade openness, industrialisation, and CO2 emissions among income-based groups of nations from 1998–2021. It also incorporates partner economies of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project because these cover 65% of the global population. The findings of the panel autoregressive distributed lag model confirms that virtually all of the chosen samples of the various economies, aside from high-income economies, show that economic complexity degrades the environment. On the other hand, the demand for renewable energy enhances global environmental quality. The study highlights the significance of clean energy ventures and the production of greener quality products globally to minimise environmental damage.

Role of China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Logistic System of Pakistan's and China's

This study will explain the impact of China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) on logistic system of China and Pakistan. This project is estimated investment of US $90 billion, CPEC project is consists of various sub-projects including energy, road, railway and fiber optic cable but major portion will be spent on energy. This project will start from Kashgar port of china to Gwadar port of Pakistan. Transportation is sub-function of logistic that consists of 44% total cost of logistic system and 20% total cost of production of manufacturing and mainly shipping cost and transit/delivery time are critical for logistic system. According to OEC (The Observing Economic Complexity) currently, china is importing crude oil which 13.4% from Persian Gulf. CPEC will china for lead time that will be reduced from 45 days to 10 days and distance from 2500km to 1300km. This new route will help to china for less transit/deliver time and shipping cost in terms of logistic of china. Pakistan’s transportation will also improve through road, railway and fiber optic cabal projects from Karachi-Peshawar it will have speed 160km per hour and with help of pipeline between Gwadar to Nawabshah gas will be transported from Iran. According to (www.cpec.inf.com) Pakistan logistic industry will grow by US $30.77 billion in the end of 2020.

The Contribution of Economic Complexity to Social Welfare in Africa

The Contribution of Economic Complexity to Social Welfare in Africa

Toward sustainable climate action in advanced economies: Linking information communication technology, technological innovation, economic complexity, and ecological footprint

AbstractInformation and communication technology (ICT), technological innovation, and renewable energy (REN) consumption have been proffered as solutions to the recent environmental tragedies in developed countries. In recent times, ICT diffusion and technological innovation have improved in G7 countries, but the same cannot be said of REN consumption. As such, this study examines the link between ICT, economic complexity, technological innovation, REN, and ecological footprint (EF) for G7 countries over the period 1990–2020. We use three variables (fixed telephone subscriptions [FTS], mobile cellular subscriptions [MCS], and individuals using the internet [IUI]) to represent ICT. The presence of cross‐sectional dependence guides the use of second‐generation econometric methods for slope heterogeneity, unit root, cointegration, and parameter estimation. The augment mean group (AMG) estimator and panel OLS techniques are applied to complement the method of moment quantile regression (MM‐QR) approach. The MM‐QR results suggest that REN consumption and technological innovation impede the EF across all quantile levels (0.1–0.9), whereas economic growth and economic complexity augment the EF in G7 countries. The ICT variables have heterogeneous effects on the EF, suggesting that the impact of ICT on the EF depends on the estimation techniques and proxy for the variable. In line with these outcomes, public policies directed toward funding technological innovation projects are recommended. The funding should specifically focus on environmentally friendly technologies that can guarantee complementarity between reduced environmental damage and increased economic growth.

Gender economic inclusion, governance institutions and economic complexity in Africa

AbstractThis study examines the effects of gender economic inclusion on economic complexity in Africa, as well as the moderating role of governance institutions on the relationship between gender inclusion and economic complexity. The analysis was based on the pooled OLS and the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques, with data from 34 African economies between 2010 and 2021. The analysis uncovered several important findings. First, from the most robust model (i.e., GMM), positive synergies are apparent because gender economic inclusion promotes economic complexity, and governance dynamics further enhance the positive effect of gender economic inclusion on economic complexity. Second, regardless of the adopted technique, a predominantly positive and statistically significant relationship was identified between gender economic inclusion and economic complexity. Third, it was observed that while governance institutions exhibit a negative relationship with economic complexity, they play a positive role in moderating the relationship between gender inclusion and economic complexity. Fourth, factors such as foreign direct investment inflow, trade openness, and international tourism were identified as potent drivers of economic complexity in Africa, while the impact of human capital appears to be relatively subdued. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need for institutional reforms to improve governance transparency, accountability, and efficiency, alongside advocating for gender‐inclusive policies and increased investment in education.

Economic complexity, renewable energy and ecological footprint: The role of the housing market in the USA

Prior studies tested the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis via the income channel, but few studies have used the housing market to examine this relationship; these papers are constrained due to the fact that CO2 emission was used as a measure of environmental deterioration, which only accounts for air pollution. Therefore, this study aims to bridge this gap by employing the housing market to test for the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve using ecological footprint in the case of the USA, which serves as a more comprehensive measure of ecological equality. The present work is the first study to explore the impact of the housing market on ecological footprint in the context of the USA. The study uses the novel bootstraps ARDL approach to assess the effects of the housing market, renewable energy, economic growth, and economic complexity on the ecological footprint in the case of the USA from 1980 to 2018. The outcomes revealed that the impacts of renewable energy and economic complexity on ecological footprint are positive and statistically significant. In addition, the environmental Kuznets curve theory has also been validated in the case of the USA. The empirical results also indicate that the housing market adversely influences ecological quality. Based on the study findings, this study offers several policy implications for the USA policymakers to promote ecological sustainability by formulating comprehensive economic and green energy policies. Furthermore, the study suggests that USA policymakers should promote a high level of complexity through knowledge and skills to achieve a sustainable ecosystem.

An evolutionary approach to regional studies on global value chains

ABSTRACT There is an ongoing dialogue that explores how the global production network and evolutionary economic geography (EEG) literatures can make promising crossovers. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by outlining a theoretical-analytical approach to regional studies on global value chains (GVCs). Building on the EEG literature on relatedness, economic complexity and regional diversification, this approach aims to develop a better understanding of the ability of regions to develop new and upgrade existing GVCs, and why regions may experience the loss or downgrading of existing GVCs. We present the features of this relatedness/complexity approach to GVCs and discuss potential fields of applications.