Regional and Sectoral Structures and Their Dynamics of Chinese Economy: A Network Perspective from Multi-Regional Input-Output Tables

In this talk, we present a recent investigation on multi-regional input-output tables (MRIOTs) which contain the information of transactions among the region-sectors in an economic system. Specifically, we look into the structures of Chinese economy and the temporal dynamics from 2007 to 2010. Noticing that MRIOTs can be modeled by weighted, directed networks, we adopt a few network analysis tools in the present study. The analysis results have revealed a few interesting and telling insights. The level of inter-provincesector activities have increased with the rapid growth of China’s economy, but not as fast as that of intra-province economic activities. Regional community structures have been deeply associated with geographical factors. The community heterogeneity across the regions has become high and the regional fragmentation has become significant during the study period. Quantified metrics assessing the relative importance of the province-sectors in the national economy echo the national and regional economic development policies to a certain extent. This research is jointly done with Tao Wang, Shiying Xiao and Jun Yan.