Study on the characteristics of international coal trade on complex network
Abstract
This paper builds a complex network of weighted and directed coal trade based on the international coal trade data in the United Nations trade database from 1999 to 2018, specifically analyzes the trade scale, trade relations, and trade distribution and other characteristics of international coal trade, and determines the main trade core countries and trade hub countries. The results show that the scale of international coal trade has grown steadily, but the transformation of trade relations is complicated. Especially in the context of increasing trade frictions, trade links between countries have decreased significantly, trade balance has declined, and trade agglomeration has increased. Australia, the United States, Japan and other countries are big coal trading countries, while the United States, South Africa, India and other countries are important trading hubs. Based on the theory of competitive advantage, this paper proposes corresponding countermeasures for different countries to enhance their competitive advantages.
First published online 23 February 2022
Keyword : international coal trade, complex network, trade scale, trade relations, trade distribution, trade core countries, trade hub countries
How to Cite
Chen, X., Tan, Z., & Li, S. (2022). Study on the characteristics of international coal trade on complex network. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(4), 797–817. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2022.15670
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Barabási, A. L., & Albert, R. (1999). Emergence of scaling in random networks. Science, 286(5439), 509–512. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5439.509
Bhattacharya, K., Mukherjee, G., Saramäki, J., Kaski, K., & Manna, S. S. (2008). The international trade network: weighted network analysis and modelling. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2008(02), P02002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2008/02/P02002
BP. (2019, June 11). BP Statistical Review of World Energy. https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/press-releases/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2019.html
Chen, J., Xie, Q., Shahbaz, M., Song, M., & Wu, Y. (2021). The fossil energy trade relations among BRICS countries. Energy, 217, 119383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119383
Cronshaw, I. (2015). World Energy Outlook 2014 projections to 2040: Natural gas and coal trade, and the role of China. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 59(4), 571–585. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12120
Gao, C., Su, B., Sun, M., Zhang, X., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Interprovincial transfer of embodied primary energy in China: A complex network approach. Applied Energy, 215, 792–807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.075
Guan, Q., & An, H. (2017). The exploration on the trade preferences of cooperation partners in four energy commodities’ international trade: Crude oil, coal, natural gas and photovoltaic. Applied Energy, 203, 154–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.06.026
Guimera, R., Mossa, S., Turtschi, A., & Amaral, L. N. (2005). The worldwide air transportation network: Anomalous centrality, community structure, and cities’ global roles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(22), 7794–7799. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407994102
Hauenstein, C., & Holz, F. (2021). The US coal sector between shale gas and renewables: Last resort coal exports? Energy Policy, 149, 112097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.112097
Hu, X., Wang, C., Lim, M. K., & Koh, S. L. (2020). Characteristics and community evolution patterns of the international scrap metal trade. Journal of Cleaner Production, 243, 118576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118576
Hye, Q. M. A., & Lau, W. Y. (2015). Trade openness and economic growth: empirical evidence from India. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 16(1), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2012.720587
Long, T., Pan, H., Dong, C., Qin, T., & Ma, P. (2019). Exploring the competitive evolution of global wood forest product trade based on complex network analysis. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 525, 1224–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.187
Malighetti, P., Martini, G., Redondi, R., & Scotti, D. (2019). Air transport networks of global integrators in the more liberalized Asian air cargo industry. Transport Policy, 80, 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.04.021
Newman, M. E. (2002). Assortative mixing in networks. Physical Review Letters, 89(20), 208701. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.208701
Semanur, S., Hüseyin, T., & Halil, Ö. (2020). An alternative view to the global coal trade: Complex network approach. Studies in Business and Economics, 15(1), 270–288. https://doi.org/10.2478/sbe-2020-0020
Strogatz, S. H. (2001). Exploring complex networks. Nature, 410(6825), 268–276. https://doi.org/10.1038/35065725
Torres, N., Afonso, O., & Soares, I. (2013). Natural resources, wage growth and institutions – a panel approach. The World Economy, 36(5), 661–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12023
Umar, M., Ji, X., Kirikkaleli, D., Shahbaz, M., & Zhou, X. (2020). Environmental cost of natural resources utilization and economic growth: Can China shift some burden through globalization for sustainable development? Sustainable Development, 28(6), 1678–1688. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2116
Wang, W., & Li, Z. (2019). The evolution of China’s interregional coal trade network, 1997–2016. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 536, 120974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.210
Wang, X., Yao, M., Li, J., Ge, J., Wei, W., Wu, B., & Zhang, M. (2019). Global embodied rare earths flows and the outflow paths of China’s embodied rare earths: Combining multi-regional input-output analysis with the complex network approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 216, 435–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.312
Watts, D. J., & Strogatz, S. H. (1998). Collective dynamics of “small-world” networks. Nature, 393, 440–442. https://doi.org/10.1038/30918
Wu, X. F., & Chen, G. Q. (2018). Coal use embodied in globalized world economy: From source to sink through supply chain. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 81, 978–993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.018
Xia, X. H., Chen, B., Wu, X. D., Hu, Y., Liu, D. H., & Hu, C. Y. (2017). Coal use for world economy: Provision and transfer network by multi-region input-output analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.142
Zhang, Z., Wang, J., & Li, B. (2019). Determining the influence factors of soil organic carbon stock in opencast coal-mine dumps based on complex network theory. Catena, 173, 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.10.030
Zhong, W., An, H., Shen, L., Dai, T., Fang, W., Gao, X., & Dong, D. (2017). Global pattern of the international fossil fuel trade: The evolution of communities. Energy, 123, 260–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.02.033
Zhong, W., Dai, T., Wang, G., Li, Q., Li, D., Liang, L., & Jiang, M. (2018). Structure of international iron flow: Based on substance flow analysis and complex network. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 136, 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.05.006
Bhattacharya, K., Mukherjee, G., Saramäki, J., Kaski, K., & Manna, S. S. (2008). The international trade network: weighted network analysis and modelling. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2008(02), P02002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2008/02/P02002
BP. (2019, June 11). BP Statistical Review of World Energy. https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/press-releases/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2019.html
Chen, J., Xie, Q., Shahbaz, M., Song, M., & Wu, Y. (2021). The fossil energy trade relations among BRICS countries. Energy, 217, 119383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119383
Cronshaw, I. (2015). World Energy Outlook 2014 projections to 2040: Natural gas and coal trade, and the role of China. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 59(4), 571–585. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12120
Gao, C., Su, B., Sun, M., Zhang, X., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Interprovincial transfer of embodied primary energy in China: A complex network approach. Applied Energy, 215, 792–807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.075
Guan, Q., & An, H. (2017). The exploration on the trade preferences of cooperation partners in four energy commodities’ international trade: Crude oil, coal, natural gas and photovoltaic. Applied Energy, 203, 154–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.06.026
Guimera, R., Mossa, S., Turtschi, A., & Amaral, L. N. (2005). The worldwide air transportation network: Anomalous centrality, community structure, and cities’ global roles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(22), 7794–7799. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407994102
Hauenstein, C., & Holz, F. (2021). The US coal sector between shale gas and renewables: Last resort coal exports? Energy Policy, 149, 112097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.112097
Hu, X., Wang, C., Lim, M. K., & Koh, S. L. (2020). Characteristics and community evolution patterns of the international scrap metal trade. Journal of Cleaner Production, 243, 118576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118576
Hye, Q. M. A., & Lau, W. Y. (2015). Trade openness and economic growth: empirical evidence from India. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 16(1), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2012.720587
Long, T., Pan, H., Dong, C., Qin, T., & Ma, P. (2019). Exploring the competitive evolution of global wood forest product trade based on complex network analysis. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 525, 1224–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.187
Malighetti, P., Martini, G., Redondi, R., & Scotti, D. (2019). Air transport networks of global integrators in the more liberalized Asian air cargo industry. Transport Policy, 80, 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.04.021
Newman, M. E. (2002). Assortative mixing in networks. Physical Review Letters, 89(20), 208701. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.208701
Semanur, S., Hüseyin, T., & Halil, Ö. (2020). An alternative view to the global coal trade: Complex network approach. Studies in Business and Economics, 15(1), 270–288. https://doi.org/10.2478/sbe-2020-0020
Strogatz, S. H. (2001). Exploring complex networks. Nature, 410(6825), 268–276. https://doi.org/10.1038/35065725
Torres, N., Afonso, O., & Soares, I. (2013). Natural resources, wage growth and institutions – a panel approach. The World Economy, 36(5), 661–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12023
Umar, M., Ji, X., Kirikkaleli, D., Shahbaz, M., & Zhou, X. (2020). Environmental cost of natural resources utilization and economic growth: Can China shift some burden through globalization for sustainable development? Sustainable Development, 28(6), 1678–1688. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2116
Wang, W., & Li, Z. (2019). The evolution of China’s interregional coal trade network, 1997–2016. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 536, 120974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.04.210
Wang, X., Yao, M., Li, J., Ge, J., Wei, W., Wu, B., & Zhang, M. (2019). Global embodied rare earths flows and the outflow paths of China’s embodied rare earths: Combining multi-regional input-output analysis with the complex network approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 216, 435–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.312
Watts, D. J., & Strogatz, S. H. (1998). Collective dynamics of “small-world” networks. Nature, 393, 440–442. https://doi.org/10.1038/30918
Wu, X. F., & Chen, G. Q. (2018). Coal use embodied in globalized world economy: From source to sink through supply chain. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 81, 978–993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.018
Xia, X. H., Chen, B., Wu, X. D., Hu, Y., Liu, D. H., & Hu, C. Y. (2017). Coal use for world economy: Provision and transfer network by multi-region input-output analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.142
Zhang, Z., Wang, J., & Li, B. (2019). Determining the influence factors of soil organic carbon stock in opencast coal-mine dumps based on complex network theory. Catena, 173, 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2018.10.030
Zhong, W., An, H., Shen, L., Dai, T., Fang, W., Gao, X., & Dong, D. (2017). Global pattern of the international fossil fuel trade: The evolution of communities. Energy, 123, 260–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.02.033
Zhong, W., Dai, T., Wang, G., Li, Q., Li, D., Liang, L., & Jiang, M. (2018). Structure of international iron flow: Based on substance flow analysis and complex network. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 136, 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.05.006