The new research shows it would be necessary to link trade data from different countries to create an accurate global map of supply relations. However, the article notes a lot more work needs to be done and recommends using the wide availability of data and new analysis methods to eventually map the global network of 13 billion supply connections.
Professor Vasco Carvalho said; “This is a major piece of research, which builds on much of my earlier research regarding supply chain disruption. The global economy consists of more than 300 million firms, connected through an estimated 13 billion supply links, that produce most goods and services.”
Until now it has been difficult if not impossible to analyze the world economy at the firm level, even less so its intricate network of supply chain linkages. “This blind spot has left us ill-prepared to make fast and well-informed decisions. For example, this led to prolonged shortages in raw materials and critical medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Now, the availability of new data and recent methodological advances allow a team of researchers to reconstruct a large share of the global firm-level supply network. Because mapping this network is likely to continue to improve, it is essential to initiate a discussion about responsible management and effective use of these data for the global public good. “This requires new collaborative efforts between nations, their public institutions, international organizations, the private sector, and scientists,” said Professor Carvalho.
The article shows it would be necessary to link trade data from different countries to create an accurate global map of supply relations.
Professor Carvalho adds “A lot more work needs to be done, and I would like to use the wide availability of data and new analysis methods to eventually map the global network of 13 billion supply connections.”
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The paper’s authors are Anton Pichler, Christian Diem, Alexandra Brintrup, Francois Lafond, Glenn Magerman, Gert Buiren, Thomas Choi, J Farmer, Stefan Thurner, and Vasco Carvalho.
The full paper is available at: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi7521
